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Agricultural  Experiment  Station 


BULLETIN  NO.  149 


TUBERCULOSIS  OF  FARM  ANIMALS 


BY  CHAS.  F.  BRISCOE  AND  W.  J.  MACNEAL, 


\ 


URBANA,  ILLINOIS,  FEBRUARY,  1911 


SUMMARY  OF  BULLETIN  No.  149 

1.  Tuberculosis  was  known  as  early  as  460  B.  C.     It  is  a  disease 
due  to  a  specific  organism,  B.  tuberculosis.    Four  types  of  this  organ- 
ism are  recognized;    the  human,  bovine,  avian,  and  a  type  belonging 
to  cold  blooded  animals. 

2.  The  disease  is  characterized  by  the  formation  of  tubercles  as  a 
reaction  of  the  animal  tissues.     The  tubercle  bacilli  may  enter  the 
body  thru  the  act  of  breathing,  eating  and  thru  wounds ;    and  leave 
the  body  thru  the  mouth  or  nose,  or  in  the  milk,  feces,  urine,  genital 
discharges,    or    discharges    from    wounds.      The   tuberculous    animal 
rarely  shows  physical  signs  until  the  last  stages  of  the  disease. 

3.  In   determining  the  presence  or   absence  of  tubercle  bacilli   in 
material  supposed  to  be  infectious,  the  method  of  animal  inoculation 
is  far  superior  to  that  of  microscopical  examination.    This  is  true  be- 
cause of  the  difficulty  of  distinguishing  the  tubercle  bacilli  from  other 
acid-fast  bacilli,  and  the  difficulty  of  finding  them  when  present  in 
small  numbers.  Pages  317-327 

4.  Tubercle  bacilli  are  widely  distributed  in  market  butter.     Table 
i  shows  a  total  of  1233  samples  of  butter  tested  of  which   163,  or 
13.2  percent,  were  positive;    Table  2  shows  209  samples  of  oleomar- 
garine tested,  with  9,  or  4.3  percent,  positive. 

5.  The  percentage  of  samples  containing  tubercle  bacilli  shows  no 
decrease  when  the  work  of  the  last  few  years  is  compared  with  the 
first  work  done  twenty  years  ago. 

6.  Tubercle  bacilli  remain  virulent  in  butter  as  ordinarily  salted, 
for  more  than  five  months. 

7.  Two  of  six  samples  of  butter  tested  at  this  laboratory  contained 
tubercle  bacilli  virulent  to  guinea  pigs.  Pages  328-333 

8.  There  is  recorded  in  the  literature  the  testing  of  7845  samples 
of  market  milk  for  tubercle  bacilli  of  which  537,  or  6.8  percent,  con- 
tained this  organism.     In  the  United  States  three  authors  found  tu- 
bercle bacilli  present  in  78,  or  17.5  percent,  in  a  total  of  447  samples 
of  milk  tested,  while  in  Continental  Europe  four  authors  found  this 
organism  present  in  205,  or  4.8  percent,  of  4229  samples  tested.    , 


9.  In  37  samples  of  market  milk  tested  at  this  Station  no  tubercle 
bacilli  were  found. 

10.  Tubercle  bacilli  have  been  found  in  the  milk  from  tuberculous 
cows  with  sound  udders  by  many  reliable  investigators.     These  bac- 
teria probably  gained  access  to  the  milk  from  other  sources  (manure, 
urine,  dust)  than,  the  interior  of  the  udder,  in  most  cases. 

11.  Tubercle  bacilli  are  rarely  excreted  in  the  milk  of  tuberculous 
cows  with  sound  udders,  especially  if  the  infection  is  localized;  when 
the  infection  is  generalized  or  when  tubercle  bacilli  are  free  in  the 
blood,  these  organisms  may  be  excreted  along  with  the  milk. 

12.  Forty-seven  samples  of  milk  from  ten  tuberculous  cows,  tested 
at  this  laboratory,  gave  wholly  negative  results.    None  of  the  ten  cows 
was  found  to  be  extensively  tuberculous  post  mortem. 

Pages  334-362 

13.  Guinea  pig  inoculation  tests  are  superior  to  microscopic  tests 
in  detecting  the  presence  of  tubercle  bacilli  in  cow  manure.    By  inocu- 
lation tests,  tubercle  bacilli  in  a  suspension  of  .fresh  cow  manure  can 
be  detected  when  present  in  an  amount  as  small  as  one  hundred  bil- 
lionth of  a  gram  in  the  dose  injected. 

14.  Ordinarily  only  a  small  percentage  of  tuberculous  cattle  are 
excreting  virulent  tubercle  bacilli  in  their  feces  at  any  given  time. 

15.  At  this  Station  ninety-seven  samples  of  feces  from  sixty-two 
cattle  have  been  tested  for  tubercle  bacilli  by  inoculation  of  guinea 
pigs.    These  organisms  have  been  found  four  times  in  samples  from 
three  of  the  cows.  Pages  362-390 

16.  At  present  the  results  of  different  investigators  in  detecting 
tubercle  bacilli  in  the  circulating  blood  are  conflicting.     This  diffcr- 
ence  may  be  due  to  the  amount  of  sample  injected  into  the  test  ani- 
mal ;    the  larger  the  amount  of  sample,  the  larger  the  percentage  of 
positive  findings.^ 

17.  The  contention,  of  Rosenberger  that  tubercle  bacilli  are  fre- 
quently found' in  the  blood  by  microscopic  test  has  not  been  confirmed 
by  other  workers.      4. 

18.  As  a  diagnostic  procedure  the  examination  of  the  blood   for 
tubercle  bacilli  is  of  little  value. 

19.  Twelve  samples  of  blood  from  eight  cattle  were  tested  for  tu- 
bercle bacilli,  both  by  the  Rosenberger  method  and  by  guinea  pig  in- 
oculations.   No  test  showed  the  presence  of  these  organisms. 

Pages  390-402 


20.  There  are  about  200,000  deaths  annually  in  the  United  States 
from  tuberculosis,  of  which  it  is  estimated   (Park  and  Krumwiede) 
that  92  percent  are  caused  by  the  human  type  of  tubercle  bacilli ;  and 
8  percent,  or  16,000  cases,  are  caused  by  the  bovine  type. 

21.  In  the  cases  caused  by  the  bovine  type  of  tubercle  bacilli  the 
disease  is  probably  contracted  very  largely  thru  the  food  and  is  found 
almost  exclusively  among  children.  Pages  402-406 

22.  Though   our  knowledge   concerning   distribution   of  cattle  tu- 
berculosis is  yet  incomplete,  it  is  known  to  be  extensive  thruout  the 
world ;    ranging  from  10  to  48  percent  where  most  testing  has  been 
done. 

23.  The  two  things  most  favoring  the  distribution  of  this  disease 
are  the  extensive  trade  in   (tuberculous)  cattle,  and  the  difficulty  of 
recognizing  the  disease  by  physical  signs  until  it  is  far  advanced. 

Pages  406-412 

24.  The  recognition  of  tuberculosis  in  cattle  depends  almost  en- 
tirely upon  the  tuberculin  test.     The  positive  test  is  accurate  in  about 
98  percent   of  the  cases  as  shown  by  slaughter.    The  negative  test  is 
not  so  reliable. 

25.  The  Bang  method  of  handling  a  tuberculous  herd  is  recom- 
mended to  owners  of  large  herds.     The  modified  Bang  method  by 
means  of  a  "Stock  Owners'  Association,"  is  recommended  to  owners 
of  smaller  herds. 

26.  The   responsibility    of    ridding    farm    animals   of   tuberculosis 
must  finally  be  placed  upon  the  stock  owner.     The  State  may  well 
formulate  rules  and  regulations,  provide  for   free  tuberculin  testing, 
and  for  popular  and  special  education  upon  the  subject  of  animal  tu- 
berculosis. Pages  412-431 


Note. — The  experimental  and  bibliographic  work  shown  in  this 
bulletin  was  done  by  Mr.  Briscoe  of  the  Department  of  Botany,  which 
includes  bacteriology.  The  manuscript  in  its  original  form  was  also 
prepared  by  him.  Dr.  MacNeal,  Assistant  Professor  of  Botany  (bac- 
teriology) and  a  member  of  the  Station  Staff,  directed  the  work  and 
made  a  careful  revision  of  the  entire  matter  for  publication. 

T.  J.  BURRILL,  Head  of  Department. 


TUBERCULOSIS  OF  FARM  ANIMALS 

BY  CHAS.  F.  BRISCOE,  INSTRUCTOR  IN  BOTANY,  AND  W.  J. 
ASSISTANT  CHIEF  IN  BACTERIOLOGY 

INTRODUCTION 

CAUSE  Tuberculosis  is  a  contagious  disease  widely  prev- 

alent thruout  the  world.  The  infectious  agent 
is  a  bacterium,  Bacillus  tuberculosis.  This  germ  is  conveyed  from 
animal  to  animal,  by  direct  contact,  by  means  of  food  or  drink, 
by  inhalation,  or  it  may  gain  entrance  thru  a  wound.  Bacillus 
tuberculosis  is  a  microscopic  plant.  It  has  the  shape  of  a  very 
small,  thin  rod.  It  is  a  definite  species.  No  tubercle  bacillus  can 
originate  except  it  comes  from  a  parent  tubercle  bacillus ;  any 
more  than  a  white  oak  tree  can  come  from  any  other  than  a  parent 
white  oak  tree.  No  animal,  no  person  can  take  this  disease  unless 
this  specific  germ  gains  entrance  to  the  body,  and  by  its  multipli- 
cation in  the  body  produces  its  characteristic  effects.  It  should 
be  emphasized  at  the  outset  that  Bacillus  tuberculosis  is  not  found 
everywhere.  It  cannot  live  long  outside  the  animal  body  under 
ordinary  conditions.  It  is  easily  killed  by  light,  and  is  killed, 
when  fully  exposed,  by  drying,  tho  it  may  live  for  weeks  or  even 
months  in  apparently  dry  material.  It  is  not  found  except  in 
places  where  animals  or  human  beings  with  the  disease  live  or 
have  lately  lived.  Tuberculosis  is  a  purely  contagious  disease  and 
in  domestic  animals  it  is  contracted  very  largely  thru  close  as- 
sociation with  a  diseased  animal.  The  disease  is  not  inherited, 
tho  in  some  rare  instances  the  tubercle  bacillus  may  gain  en- 
trance to  the  young  before  birth.  A  weak  bodily  resistance  to  the 
tubercle  bacillus  may  be  inherited. 

Tuberculosis   was   known   to   the  Ancient   Greeks 
™  as  early  as  the  fifth  century  before  Christ/     Hip- 

ACCOUNT  f    £.    '  -B     r*  \  r    4.1. • 

pocrates  gave  (460  B.  C.)  a  description  of  this 
disease,  tho  he  surely  did  not  understand  the  tubercle  as  we  know 
it  today.  But  little  more  was  written  concerning  the  disease 
until  the  i/th  century  of  our  era;  then  came  the  period  of  anatom- 
ical investigation.  About  the  middle  of  the  iQth  century  what 
we  may  call  the  period  of  experimental  investigation  began,  and 
among  the  investigations,  that  of  Villemin,  published  in  December, 
1865,  proving  the  infectiousness  of  the  disease,  is  of  fundamental 
importance.  Villemin  inoculated  rabbits  subcutaneously  behind 
the  ear  with  pus  of  yellow  and  gray  tubercles  from  consumptive 

317 


318  BULLETIN   No.    149  [February, 

men  and  also  from  tuberculous  cattle,  and  produced  in  this  way 
tubercles  in  the  lungs  and  livers  of  the  rabbits.  Since  then  Vil- 
lemin's  experiments  have  been  repeated  and  confirmed  by  thous- 
ands of  workers.  In  1882,  Robert  Koch  discovered  the  tubercle 
bacillus,  stained,  described  and  successfully  cultivated  it,  and  pro- 
duced tuberculosis  by  inoculating  the  germ,  free  from  all  other 
living  material,  into  animals.  In  1890,  Koch  prepared  and  de- 
scribed the  substance  known  as  tuberculin  which  has  now  become 
so  useful  as  a  diagnostic  agent. 

Very  early  in  the  study  of  the  tubercle  bacilli,  certain  differ- 
ences were  discovered  between  those  present  in  mammals,  those 
of  birds,  and  those  infecting  fish,  and  these  three  distinct  types 
have  been  recognized  for  many  years.  In  1898,  Theobald  Smith 
first  recognized  type  differences  between  the  tubercle  bacilli  pres- 
ent in  human  pulmonary  tuberculosis  and  those  present  in  tuber- 
culosis (pearl  disease)  of  cattle.  The  former  he  called  the  human 
type,  the  latter,  the  bovine  type. 

The  organisms  belonging  to  the  human,  bovine,  and  'avian 
types  are  by  far  the  most  important  economically  and  of  these 
the  human  and  the  bovine,  especially  in  America,  concern  us  most. 
These  latter  were  distinguished  by  Smith,12  by  differences  in  their 
morphology,  in  growth  in  artificial  culture,  in  the  reaction  pro- 
duced in  glycerin  broth  cultures,  and  in  their  virulence.  The 
human  type  is  less  virulent  for  rabbits  than  the  bovine  type.  The 
human  type  produces  acid  when  grown  for  some  weeks  in  five 
percent  glycerin  broth;  the  bovine  type  produces  an  alkalin  reac- 
tion. The  human  type  grows  more  readily  and  more  abundantly 
than  the  bovine  type  on  culture  media  in  general.  The  human 
bacillus  is  longer,  more  slender,  and  curved;  the  bovine  bacillus 
is  shorter,  plumper,  and  usually  straighten 

VIRULENCE  The  possible  practical  importance  of  this  differ- 
OF  BOVINE  ence  in  type  is  at  once  apparent.  Koch  perceived 
AND  HUMAN  this  and  followed  up  Smith's  work  with  an  ex- 
TYPES  tensive  investigation  of  the  transmissibility  of  the 

human  disease  to  cattle,  and  arrived  at  the  start- 
ling conclusion  which  he  first  announced  at  the  Tuberculosis  Con- 
gress at  London,  1901.  He  said  that  cattle  can  not  be  infected 
with  the  bacillus  of  the  human  type  and  that  man  need  have  little 
fear  of  infection  with  the  bovine  organism  from  animal  products. 
This  statement  of  Koch  aroused  considerable  opposition  at  the 
time,  and  has  stimulated  the  production,  during  the  last  nine  years, 
of  a  great  deal  of  work  upon  the  subject.  The  opinion  of  the 
great  majority  of  scientists,  at  the  Sixth  International  Congress 
on  Tuberculosis  at  Washington  in  1908,  was  strongly  against 


TUBERCULOSIS  OF  FARM  ANIMALS  319 

Koch's  statement  in  regard  to  the  danger  of  the  bovine  bacillus 
for  man. 

There  are  on  record  numerous  observations  of  the  infection 
of  cattle  with  tubercle  bacilli  derived  from  man.  These  have  been 
reviewed  by  Ravenel10  who  concludes  that  there  is  no  longer  any 
doubt  that  such  transmission  can  take  place.  Schweinitz  and  Dor- 
set" come  to  the  same  conclusion. 

That  man  can  be  infected  by  the  bovine  tubercle  bacilli  does 
not,  from  the  nature  of  the  question,  readily  admit  of  direct  ex- 
perimental proof.  But  indirect  evidence  has  been  brought  forward 
in  abundance.  Instances  in  which  children  and  men  have  been 
infected  by  tubercle  bacilli  of  the  bovine  type  have  been  reported 
by  a  large  number  of  investigators.  Many  of  these  instances  are 
reviewed  by  Ravenel10  and  more  recent  reports  of  similar  cases 
have  been  made  by  Hess,"  Lewis,'  Park,8  Duval,"  and  Park  and 
Krumwiede.9  The  case  reported  by  Trojeu  may  be  given  as  an 
example  in  which  the  evidence  was  very  clear.  A  young  butcher  in 
good  health,  and  with  no  hereditary  taint,  wounded  his  right  fore- 
arm while  slaughtering  a  tuberculous  cow.  The  wound  at  first 
healed  under  medical  treatment  but  a  month  later  proved  to  be 
tuberculous.  Very  many  cases  of  tuberculosis  in  children  have 
been  reported  where  the  infection  had  evidently  come  thru  the  in- 
gestion  of  milk  and  other  dairy  products.  The  isolation  of  the 
bovine  type  of  tubercle  bacilli  from  tubercles  in  children,  especially 
from  the  lymphatic  glands  of  the  neck  and  intestines,  is  not  at  all 
uncommon.  Primary  intestinal  tuberculosis  and  tuberculosis  of  the 
lymphatics  in  man  are  frequently  caused  by  tubercle  bacilli  of  the 
bovine  type.  These  kinds  of  tuberculosis  are  thot  by  Koch"  to 
be  relatively  very  infrequent.  On  the  other  hand,  Fibiger  and 
Jensen4  think  that  of  all  tuberculous  cases  in  children  16  percent 
are  of  this  type.  Park  and  Krumwiede*  found  in  an  examination 
of  a  total  of  435  consecutive  cases  of  tuberculosis  (that  is  all 
cases  were  examined  regardless  of  type)  32,  or  7.4  percent, 
caused  by  tubercle  bacilli  of  the  bovine  type.  Of  adults  over  16 
years  of  age  only  one  case  of  297  examined  was  caused  by  bacilli 
of  the  bovine  type,  while  in  children  between  the  ages  of  5  and 
1 6  years,  9  out  of  54  or  i6^i  percent,  and  in  children  under  5  years 
of  age,  22  out  of  a  total  of  84  cases  examined,  or  26.2  percent, 
were  found  to  be  caused  by  the  bovine  type  of  tubercle  bacillus. 
Theobald  Smith13  has  estimated  that  about  one  percent  of  tuber- 
culosis in  man  is  of  the  bovine  type.  Charles  F.  Dawson  says, 
"A  summation  of  the  views  of  various  authors  shows  a  prepon- 
derance of  opinion  against  Koch's  theory",  in  which  he  doubted 
that  human  and  bovine  tuberculosis  are  intertransmissible. 


320  BULLETIN   No.   149  [February, 

From  the  mass  of  apparently  conflicting  evidence  in  regard  to 
the  intertransmissibility  of  tuberculosis  between  the  human  and 
the  bovine  species,  it  is  impossible  at  present  to  arrive  at  the 
whole  truth.  The  following  facts  seem  well  established  : 

1.  Healthy  bovine  animals  do  not  naturally  become  infected 
with  tubercle  bacilli  of  the  human  type. 

2.  The  human  species  can  be  infected  with  tubercle  bacilli  of 
the  bovine  type,  and  such  infections  appear  to  be  rather  common 
in  children. 

3.  Bovine   animals   have  been   infected   with   tubercle   bacilli 
derived  from  cases  of  human  tuberculosis.     It  seems  probable,  in 
some  cases  at  least,  that  these  were  instances  of  human  infection 
with  the  bovine  type  of  bacillus  rather  than  instances  of  infection 
of  cattle  with  the  human  type  of  the  bacillus. 

4.  Evidence  is  still  too  slight  for  deciding  whether  the  bovine 
type  of  tubercle  bacillus  may  be,  in  nature,  transformed  into  the 
human  type. 

SUMMARIZED        I-      Tuberculosis   is   a   disease   due    to   a   specific 
STATEMENT        organism.     It  is  contagious  and  transmitted  from 
one  animal  to  another. 

2.  It  was  known  to  the  early  Greeks,  460  B.   C.,  but   was 
little  understood  until  the  middle  of  this  last  century. 

3.  Several  types  of  tubercle  bacilli  have  been  recognized;  the 
human,  bovine,  avian,  and  a  type  belonging  to  the  cold  blooded 
animals. 

4.  The  types  are  more  or  less   intertransmissible   from  one 
species  of  animal  to  another. 

PATHOLOGY 

The  most  characteristic  tissue  change  in  the  dis- 
TUBERCLE  ease  known  as  tuberculosis  is  the  formation  of 

tubercles.  These  are  more  especially  found  in 
the  lungs,  lymph  glands,  spleen  and  liver,  but  may  be  found  in 
any  organ  and  in  almost  all  tissues  of  the  body.  They  are  not 
uncommon  in  the  bones  but  rare  in  the  muscles  and  nervous  tissues. 
The  tubercles  vary  in  size  from  a  millet  seed,  and  less,  to  more 
than  an  inch  in  diameter.  They  are  pearly  white  to  a  yellowish 
color.  They  are  often  hard,  fibrous  or  calcareous  but  sometimes 
soft  and  full  of  pus. 


ENTRANCE  ^le  tubercle  bacilli  may  gain  entrance  to  the  body 

TO  THE  thru  the  lungs  by  particles  breathed  in,  or  they 

BODY  may   be   absorbed   directly  thru  the  lining  mem- 

branes  of   the   alimentary   tract   alone   with   the 


TUBERCULOSIS  OF  FARM  ANIMALS  321 

food  and  may  be  carried  to  the  lymph  glands  or  lungs  by  the 
blood  and  lymph  currents,  and  wherever  arrested,  multiply  and 
irritate  the  tissue  at  that  point.  By  the  resulting  increase  of  tis- 
sue cells  a  knot  or  tubercle  is  formed.  From  this  primary  center, 
which  may  be  single  or  multiple,  the  tubercle  bacilli  may  be  car- 
ried by  means  of  the  lymph  or  blood  vessels  to  other  parts  of  the 
body.  When  many  bacilli  are  carried  thus  by  means  of  the  blood 
vessels  to  all  parts  of  the  body,  there  is  produced  generalized, 
miliary  tuberculosis. 


OPEN  AND  orgamsms  may  be  restricted  in  their  multi- 

c  LOS  ED  plication  and  invasion,  and  a  tough  wall  of  tissue 

TUBERCULOSIS  may  fQrm  around  the  tubercle,  shutting  in  the 
germs  so  they  can  not  easily  be  carried  to  other 
parts  of  the  body  (Fig.  i).  This  is  called  closed  tuberculosis. 
In  other  cases,  the  tubercles  are  open  and  cavities  are  formed  as 
is  often  the  case  in  the  lungs  (Fig.  2).  Since  infectious  pus  is 
continuously  poured  out,  this  condition  is  known  as  open  tubercu- 
losis. 

ESCAPE  OF  TU-  This  infectious  pus  may  be  coughed  up  and 
BERCLE  BACILLI  smeared  over  the  manger,  fodder,  or  drinking 
FROM  THE  BODY  trough,  or  it  may  be  swallowed  and  passed  out 
with  the  dung.  Tubercle  bacilli  may  reach  the 
intestinal  contents  also  from  tubercles  of  the  intestines  or  they 
may  be  passed  out  in  the  bile  secretions  directly  into  the  intestine. 
In  such  cases,  the  dung  contains  living  tubercle  bacilli,  and  thus 
the  barn  lot  and  pasture  may  become  dangerous  to  other  cattle. 
In  a  similar  way  the  urine  or  secretions  from  the  genital  organs 
may  carry  out  the  germs.  The  milk  from  a  tuberculosis  udder 
is  a  very  dangerous  source  of  infection. 

APPEARANCE       ^n  ^ie  ear^y  stages  of  the  disease,  there  are  no 
OF  TUBER-  outward  manifestations;   no   fever,  nor  signs   of 

CULOUS  pain;  the  animal  may  be  fat  and  sleek,  eat  heart- 

ANIMALS  ily,  give  plenty  of  milk  and  apparently  breed  as 

well  as  an  animal  free  from  tuberculosis.  If  the 
udder  or  neck  glands  are  affected,  the  change  in  these  may  be 
detected  earlier,  but  not  often  even  then  until  the  disease  is  well 
advanced.  In  these  cases  knots  can.  be  felt  in  the  enlarged  glands 
which  are  hard  and  painless.  It  is  one  of  the  characteristics  of 
tuberculosis  that  squeezing  upon  the  tuberculous  nodule  gives  no 
pain,  or  much  less  pain  than  is  usual  for  such  knots  found  in  other 
diseases.  If  the  larynx,  bronchi,  or  lungs  are  affected  a  cough 
is  generally  noticeable,  especially  after  exercise  such  as  running 


322 


BULLETIN   No.   149 


[February^ 


FIG.  1.  SECTION  THROUGH  A  PIECE«OF  LUNG  FROM  A  cow,  SHOWING  CLOSED* 
TUBERCULOSIS.    ENCAPSULATED  TUBERCLES  AT  A.    BRONCHIAL  TUBE  AT  B. 

NATURAL  SIZE. 


TUBERCULOSIS  OF  FARM  ANIMALS 


323 


FIG.  2.  SECTION  THROUGH  HUMAN  LUNG  SHOWING  EXTENSIVE  OPEN 

TUBERCULOSIS  WITH  CAVITIES.]  {REDUCED.    (AFTER  G-.  CORNET, 

DIE  TUBERKULOSE,  TAFEI,  IV.) 


324  BULLETIN   No.    149  [February, 

around  the  lot  for  a  short  time.  By  placing  the  ear  over  the 
lungs  an  unusual  sound  may  sometimes  be  heard — a  crackling, 
bubbling,  or  rasping  sound.  The  breathing  is  more  irregular. 
Tuberculosis  of  the  uterus  or  ovaries  may  cause  abortion  or  ster- 
ility, while  an  involvement  of  the  alimentary  tract  often  causes 
diarrhea.  As  the  disease  advances,  even  tho  she  may  continue  to 
eat  a  normal  amount,  the  cow  loses  flesh.  The  hair  becomes  rough 
and  loses  its  luster.  The  bones  become  more  prominent,  the  eyes 
sunken,  the  ears  droop,  the  head  and  neck  are  carried  lower,  there 
is  a  decrease  in  milk,  and  the  milk  becomes  blue  and  thin.  In  the 
last  stage,  the  animal  becomes  stiff;  in  many  cases  she  can  not  lie 
down  because  of  the  difficulty  in  breathing.  At  this  stage,  a  high 
temperature  is  often  present;  progressive  emaciation  and  loss  of 
strength  continue  until  death  ensues.  Sometimes  the  disease  in 
the  earlier  stages  may  be  arrested,  the  tubercle  encapsulated,  and 
the  cow  may  live  for  some  time,  but  complete  recovery  is  probably 
rare  if  it  really  does  ever  occur  in  the  bovine  species. 

i.     The  most  characteristic  thing  about  tubercu- 

SUMMARIZED         ,      .      .      ,.        ,  ,    ,    ,         P 

STATEMENT        losis  is  the  formation  of  tubercles  as  a  reaction 
on  the  part  of  the  animal  tissues. 

2.  The  tubercle  bacilli  may  enter  the  body  thru  breathing, 
may  be  taken  in  with  food  and  absorbed,  and  thru  wounds  in  the 
skin. 

3.  Tuberculosis  is  called  open  when  the  lesions  are  discharg- 
ing tubercle  bacilli,  and  closed  when  a  confining  membrane  retains 
the  organisms  in  the  tubercle. 

4.  The  tubercle  bacilli  leave  the  body  thru  the  mouth  or  nose, 
or  in  the  milk,  feces,  urine,  or  genital  discharges. 

5.  Tuberculous  animals  in  the  early  and  moderately  advanced 
stages  appear  well  and  active,  and  become  emaciated  only  in  the 
final  stages  of  the  disease. 

GENERAL  METHODS  EMPLOYED  IX  DETERMINING 

THE  PRESENCE  OF  THE  BACILLUS 

' 

MICROSCOPICAL,  EXAMINATION 

The  microscopical  method  of  examining  milk,  butter,  feces, 
and  urine  for  Bacillus  tuberculosis,  tho  used  to  a  considerable  ex- 
tent by  early  investigators,  is  not  at  present  considered  very  re- 
liable. 

PREPARING          ^°  examme  tne  material  with  the  microscope  a 

AND  STAINING    tm'n  smear  ls  made  on  a  glass  cover  slip  and  fixed 

THE  SMEAR         by  passing  it  thru  the  flame  three  times  and  then 

staining  with  a  strong  red  dye,  hot  carbol  fuchsin. 


TUBERCULOSIS  OF  FARM  ANIMALS  325 

This  is  washed  in  cold  water  and  decolorized  with  ten  percent 
nitric  acid  until  only  a  slight  pink  color  remains.  The  preparation 
is  then  dipped  for  ten  seconds  into  eighty  percent  alcohol,  and 
again  washed  in  water.  It  is  now  counterstained  with  methy- 
lene  blue  ;  dried  and  mounted  in  balsam.  The  tubercle  bacillus  has  in 
its  outer  coating  a  waxy  layer.  This  layer  of  wax  prevents  ordinary 
applications  of  stain  from  entering  it  rapidly,  but  when  heat  is 
applied  the  strong  carbol  fuchsin  penetrates  the  organism  readily. 
In  the  cold,  ten  percent,  or  even  thirty  percent  nitric  acid  will  not 
decolorize  the  tubercle  bacillus,  but  will  decolorize  all  other  or- 
ganisms and  tissues  on  the  slide.  After  the  acid  is  all  washed  out 
with  water,  the  other  material  on  the  slide  can  be  stained  with  the 
methylene  blue  solution.  So  in  this  preparation  the  tubercle  bacil- 
lus appears  as  a  thin,  somewhat  curved,  rod,  stained  deep  red, 
which  contrasts  sharply  with  the  other  material  on  the  slide  which 
takes  the  blue  stain. 

RELIABILITY  Other  acid-fast  organisms,  however,  take  the 
same  stain  and  can  not  be  distinguished  from  the 
true  tubercle  bacillus  by  their  appearance.  Some  of  these  may  be 
eliminated  by  decolorizing  with  alcohol.  Bang1  recommends  mi- 
croscopical examinations  only  for  rapid  work,  as  in  the  case  of 
udder  tuberculosis  where  hundreds  of  organisms  may  be  found  on 
a  slide.  It  is  not  at  all  reliable  where  only  a  few  are  present  in 
the  material  to  be  examined.  By  this  method  of  examination,  the 
true  tubercle  bacillus  can  not  be  accurately  distinguished  from 
other  acid-fast  organisms,  such  as  the  butter  bacillus  of  Rabino- 
witsch  or  the  Timothy  grass  bacillus  of  Moeller,  and  besides,  one 
often  fails  to  detect  it  when  present  in  small  numbers.  A  more 
reliable  test  for  the  presence  of  the  bacillus  is  animal  inoculation. 
From  two  to  ten  cubic  centimeters  of  material  may  be  examined 
by  inoculation  into  a  guinea  pig;  but  if  this  material  were  spread 
out  thin  enough  for  microscopical  examination  it  would  make  a 
surface  so  large  as  to  take  some  days  to  examine  it  with  a  mi- 
croscope. 

ANIMAL  INOCULATION 


STOCK  ^or  our  inoculations,  guinea  pigs  alone  have  been 

ANIMALS  used.     They  were  bought  with  care,  using  only 

young,  unused  animals,  weighing  about  200 
grams  when  purchased.  When  inoculated  they  weighed  from  250 
to  300  grams.  In  stock  they  were  kept  in  pens,  about  10  to  25 
in  a  pen.  Watering  and  feeding  pans  were  scalded  or  steamed 
daily.  The  animals  were  fed  clover  hay,  carrots,  sugar-beets,  and 
corn  meal. 


326  BULLETIN   No.    149  [February, 

Those   inoculated    from   each   sample   were,   after 
inoculation,  kept  together  in  a  closed  galvanized 

INOCULATED  .  f 

ANIMALS  wire  ca£e-     They  were  bedded  with  sawdust  or 

shavings  which  was  changed  frequently  to  keep 
the  cage  In  good  sanitary  condition.  Watering  dishes  were  cleaned 
and  steamed  daily.  The  animals  were  fed  twice  and  watered  once 
a  day.  They  were  weighed  weekly  and  notes  on  their  condition 
made  as  to  loss  of  weight,  size  of  the  lymphatic  glands  in  the  groin, 
axilla,  any  lesion  at  the  point  of  inoculation,  or  any  condition  vary- 
ing from  the  normal. 

At  the  end  of  six  (or  more)  weeks  each  guinea 
TUBERCULIN  P^  was  mjecte^  subcutaneously  with  two  cubic 

centimeters  of  tuberculin,  following  the  method 
of  Anderson,  who  claims  that  this  will  detect  not  only  the  presence 
of  tuberculosis  but  will  distinguish  between  true  and  pseudo-tuber- 
culosis. In  our  work,  we  have  found  no  pseudo-tuberculous  or- 
ganisms. But  the  tuberculin  has  never  failed  either  to  kill  or 
make  very  sick  any  guinea  pig  that  had  tuberculosis.  It  had  none 
or  but  slight  effect  upon  those  free  from  the  disease.  We  have 
so  far  injected  142  guinea  pigs  with  the  tuberculin ;  thirteen  of 
these  had  tuberculosis  and  all  but  one  of  these  thirteen  died  in 
less  than  twenty-four  hours  after  the  injection.  This  one  was 
made  very  sick  and  was  killed  by  chloroform  twenty-four  hours 
after  the  injection  and  found  to  contain  tuberculous  lesions.  The 
129  having  no  tuberculosis  as  shown  by  autopsy  were  not  visibly 
affected  by  the  tuberculin.  In  the  pigs  free  from  tuberculosis 
autopsy  often  revealed  a  slight  reddening  at  the  point  of  injection 
of  tuberculin,  and  in  some  cases  a  considerable  swelling,  but  these 
guinea  pigs  apparently  did  not  notice  any  inconvenience  from  the 
two  cubic  centimeters  of  tuberculin  injected.  They  ate  and  be- 
haved otherwise  as  usual. 

POST  MORTEM  Twenty-four  hours  after  injecting  with  tubercu- 
EXAM I  NATION  n'n  Post  mortem  examination  was  performed  on 
all  the  guinea  pigs.  Those  not  already  dead  from 
the  tuberculin  were  chloroformed  and  all  were  carefully  examined 
for  tuberculosis.  If  any  suspicious  tissues  were  discovered,  stained 
preparations  were  made  and  examined  microscopically,  tubes  of 
egg  medium  were  inoculated,  tissues  were  fixed  for  sectioning,  and 
two  other  guinea  pigs  were  inoculated  with  an  emulsion  of  the 
suspected  tissue.  If  we  obtained  from  all  these  tests  results  char- 
acteristic of  the  disease,  we  could  be  fairly  sure  that  the  organism 
in  question  was  Bacillus  tuberculosis.  Such  procedure  is,  however, 
necessary  in  order  to  distinguish  from  pseudo-tuberculous  and 
other  acid-fast  organisms. 


TUBERCULOSIS  OF  FARM  ANIMALS  327 

REFERENCES 

1.  Bang,    B.,    Measures   against  tuberculosis   in   Denmark.      Sixth 
Internat.  Cong,  on  Tuberculosis  4,  part  2:  863.     1908. 

2.  Cornet,  G.,  Historical  account  is  largely  from  Cornet,  Die  Tu- 
berculose,  1:  11-19.     1902. 

3.  Duval,  Charles  W.,  Atypical  tubercle  bacilli   in  cervical  aden- 
itis.    Sixth  Internat.  Cong,  on  Tuberculosis  4,  part  2 :  704-729.     1908. 

4.  Fibiger  and  Jensen,  cited  by  Koch,  R.,  Sixth  Internat.  Cong.,  on 
Tuberculosis  4,  part  2 :  746.     1908. 

5.  Hess,  A.  F.,  The  stability  of  type  of  the  tubercle  bacillus.   Jour. 
Am.  Med.  Assoc.  52:  1011-1016.     1909. 

6.  Koch,  Robert,  The  conference  on  the  relations  of  tuberculosis 
of  animals  and  of  man.     Continuation  of  the  joint  session  of   Sec- 
tions I  and  VII  (in  camera}.     Sixth  Internat.  Cong,  on  Tuberculosis 
4,  part  2:  746.     1908. 

7.  Lewis,  Paul  A.j  Tuberculous  cervical  adenitis.     Sixth  Internat. 
Cong,  on  Tuberculosis  4,  part  2 :  692-696.     1908. 

8.  Park,  William  H.,  The  types  of  tubercle  bacilli  present  in  eighty- 
four  cases  of  human  tuberculosis  in  New  York  City.     Sixth  Internat. 
Cong,  on  Tuberculosis  4,  part  2 :  697-703.     1908. 

9.  Park,  William  H.  and  Krumwiede,  C.,  The  relative  importance 
of  the  bovine  and   human  types  of  tubercle   bacilli   in  the   different 
forms  of  human  tuberculosis.     Jour,  of  Med.  Research.  23:  205-368. 
1910. 

10.  Ravenel,  M.  P.,  Bovine  tuberculosis  a-  factor  in  the  causation 
of  human  tuberculosis.     Report  of  the  Tuberculosis  Commission  of 
the  State  of  Maryland,  1902-1904,  part  4:  32-42.     Baltimore,  1904. 

n.  Schweinitz  and  Dorset,  The  comparative  virulence  of  human 
and  bovine  tubercle  bacilli  for  some  large  animals.  U.  S.  Dept.  Agr. 
Bureau  of  Animal  Industry,  Bull.  52,  part  2.  1905. 

12.  Smith,  Th.,  A  comparative  study  of  bovine  tubercle  bacilli  and 
human  tubercle  bacilli  from  sputum.    Jour.  Exp.  Med.  3:  451.     1898. 

13.  Smith,  Th.,  The  channels  of  infection  of  tuberculosis.    (Boston 
Med.  and  Surg.  Jour.)   Cited  by  Hess.    Jour.  Am.  Med.  Assoc.    52: 
ion.     1909. 

14.  Troje,  Cited  by  Ravenel,  above. 

EXAMINATION  OF  BUTTER  FOR  TUBERCLE  BACILLI 

LITERATURE 
A  detailed  review  of  the  literature  on  the  exam- 

EXPLANATION        .         .  r  .  ,.  ,        ....  ,      , 

f\c  TADI  co  mation  of  butter  for  tubercle  bacilli  would  be  too 

\Jr     IADL.C.O  .  -,.,,,. 

extensive  for  the  purposes  of  this  bulletin,  so  a 
tabulation  of  it  is  given  instead.  See  Table  i.  The  references 
are  cited  by  numbers  which  refer  to  the  authors  arranged  alpha- 


328 


BULLETIN  No.   149 


[February, 


TABLE  1. — BACILLUS  TUBERCULOSIS  IN  MARKET  BUTTER 


6 
g 

Author 

1> 

"rt 
Q 

1890 
1894 

1895 
1896 
1897 
1897 
1897 
1897 
1897 
1897 

1897 
1899 
1899 
1899 
1899 
1899 
1899 
1899 
1899 
1899 
1899 
1899 
1899 
1899 

1899 
1899 

1900 
1900 
1900 
1900 
1901 
1901 
1901 
1901 
1902 
1902 
1904 
1906 

1908 

Place 

Samples 
examined 

Samples 
positive 

Percent 
positive 

Remark 

1 
2 

3 

4 
5 
6 
7 
8 
9 
10 
11 

12 
13 
14 
15 
16 
17 
18 
19 
20 
21 
22 
23 
24 

25 
26 

27 
28 
29 
30 
31 
32 
33 
34 
35 
36 
37 
38 

39 

Brusaferro7  

Turin   

9 
20 

13 
42 
14 
17 
? 

30 
50 
102 

10 
15 

? 

is 

19 
10 
17 
27 
3 
100 
32 
10 
43 
58 

20 

5 

39 

8 
28 
23 
12 
30 
43 
52 
17 
16 
40 
94 

150 

1 

2 

8 
0 
14 
8 
0 
0 
0 
33 

3 
2 
? 

is 

0 
4 
4 
2 
1 
12 
3 
0 
0 
0 

0 
0 

0 
1 
0 
1 
2 
0 
0 
6 
3 
0 
12 
8 

18 

11.1 
10.0 

61.0 
00.0 
100.0 
47.0 
0.0 
0.0 
0.0 
32.3 

30  0 
13.3 
87.2 
100.0 
0.0 
40.0 
23.5 
7.4 
33.3 
12.0 
9.4 
0.0 
0.0 
0.0 

0.0 
0.0 

0.0 
12.5 
0.0 
4.3 
16.7 
0.0 
0.0 
11.1 
17.6 
0.0 
30.0 
8.5 

12.0 

Microscopic 
method 

16  tested,  2  lost 
Reported  by  Markl 

First  series 
Second  series 
Third  series 
Fourth  series 

Pseudo-tubercu- 
losis 5  percent 
Pseudo-tubercu- 
losis 8  percent 
Pseudo-tubercu- 
losis 4  percent 

12  samples,  4  lost 
39  samples,  11  lost 

Two  are  doubtful 

Butter  from  88 
dairies 

Roth80  

Zurich  
Berlin  

Obermuller24  

Schuchardt33     

Marburg  

Obermiiller28  .  

Berlin  

Groning11    

Hamburg  .... 
Wien          
Berlin  

Himesch1  5    

Rabinowitsch28  
Rabinowitsch*8.    .. 
Petri26                 

Philadelphia. 
Berlin  

Herman  and 
Morganroth1  8  

Berlin  

Rabinowitsch27  
Rabinowitsch*7.  .  .  . 

Berlin  

Berlin  .      .... 

Rabinowitsch57  

Berlin  ...  

Rabinowitsch*7  

Berlin  

Obermuller2  2  
Korn18  

Berlin  

Freiburg.    .  . 
Konigsberg.  . 
Konigsberg.  . 
Milan  

Jaerer1  7  .  . 

Co£T£ri8 

Weissenfeld37  

Bonn  

Grassberger10  

Wien  

Herbert1  3  

Tubingen.  .  .  . 
Wiirttemberg 

Berlin  ... 

Herbert18  

Herbert18  

Herbert13  
Abenhausen1  

Miinchen  

Marburg   .... 
Helsingfors.  . 
Marburg  

Hellstrom18  
Bonhoff  *  ....          .... 

Pawlowsky25    

Kiew  

Tobler36  

Zurich  
Dorpat  

lyorenz19  

Markl20  

Wien  

Herr  und  Beninde14. 
Aujeszky3  

Budapest  .  .  . 
Christiana  .  .  . 
Rosen.  . 
Stuttgart  

Leipsic  

Thu36  

Teichert34  

Reitz29  

Fjber9  .    .      

Totals   . 

1233 

163 

13.2 

TUBERCULOSIS  OF  FARM  ANIMALS 


329 


betically  in  the  bibliography  at  the  close  of  this  section.  In  the 
table,  the  number  of  samples  examined,  the  number  in  which  tu- 
bercle bacilli  were  found,  and  the  percent  of  positive  findings  are 
indicated.  The  examinations  \vere  always  performed  by  the 
method  of  animal  inoculation,  except  where  otherwise  noted  in  the 
column  headed,  "Remark".  By  the  authors  cited  in  this  table 
(Table  i),  1233  samples  of  market  butter  were  examined,  of  which 
163  were  found  to  contain  tubercle  bacilli,  or  13.2  percent  of  the 
total. 

GENERAL  CON-  There  are  great  differences  between  the  findings  of 
SIDERATIONS  different  investigators,  which  may  be  due  to  the 
different  sources  of  their  material.  In  some  cases 
different  methods  of  work  may  have  had  a  part  also  in  determin- 
ing the  results  obtained.  There  is  no  evident  progressive  change 
in  the  percentage  of  infected  samples  during  the  period  covered 
by  these  examinations. 

In  this  connection  it  may  be  of  interest  to  note  that  tubercle 
bacilli  have  also  been  found  in  oleomargarine.  In  Table  2  are 
given  the  results  obtained  by  seven  investigators  in  the  examina- 
tion of  209  samples,  of  which  9,  or  4.3  percent,  were  found  to 
contain  tubercle  bacilli. 

TABLE  2 — BACILLUS  TUBERCULOSIS  IN  OLEOMARGARINE 


Author 

V 

"5 

0 

Place 

Samples 
examined 

Samples 
positive 

Percent 
positive 

Remark 

Morganroth"  

1899 
1900 
1900 
1901 
1901 
1902 
1908 

Berlin  
Berlin  

10 
15 
13 
3 
3 
15 
150 

8 
0 

1 

0 
0 
0 
0 

80.0 
0.0 
8.0 
0.0 
0.0 
0.0 
0.0 

Nearly  8  percent 
7  samples,  4  lost 

From  4  factories 

Annette2  

Annette2    
Bonhoff6    

Liverpool.   .. 
Marburg  .... 
Wien  

Markl20  
Thu35          

Christiana.  .  . 
L/eipsic  

Eber9  

Totals   

209 

9 

4.3 

There  has  been  very  little  work  in  the  United  States  on  the 
examination  of  market  butter  for  tubercle  bacilli.  Schroeder  and 
Cotton32  have  made  a  study  of  the  length  of  time  that  Bacillus 
tuberculosis  will  live  in  butter  as  ordinarily  salted  for  the  market, 
i.  e.  one  ounce  of  salt  to  the  pound  of  butter.  They  found  by 
means  of  guinea  pig  inoculations  that  the  tubercle  bacilli  in  butter 
retained  their  virulence  for  133  days  at  least.  Schroeder31  in  a 


330  BULLETIN  No.   149 

report  upon  further  studies  on  the  viability  of  tubercle  bacillus  in 
salted  butter  shows  that  it  remains  virulent  to  guinea  pigs  for  160 
days  or  longer.  He  also  reports  the  feeding  of  tuberculous  butter 
to  four  hogs.  The  butter  was  three  months  old.  Each  hog  re- 
ceived one  ounce  daily  mixed  with  its  feed.  Three  of  the  four 
hogs  became  tuberculous. 

The  method  usually  employed  in  the  examination 

METHOD  OF  ,    ,       J.      ,f  -,f.    .  ,    .. 

PROCEDURE  butter  for  tubercle  bacilli  is  as  follows.    Butter 

is  bought  in  the  market,  taken  to  the  laboratory 
and  placed  in  a  sterile  dish.  The  piece  is  separated  into  two  parts 
with  a  sterile  knife,  and  from  the  central  portion  of  the  freshly 
cut  surface  a  sufficient  amount  to  use  in  the  test  is  removed  with 
a  sterile  spatula  and  is  placed  in  a  sterile,  glass-stoppered  bottle. 
This  bottle  is  placed  in  a  38°  incubator  until  the  butter  is  melted, 
when  it  is  injected  subcutaneously  into  guinea  pigs,  a  dose  of  from 
i  to  5  cc.  being  given.  In  order  to  detect  a  small  number  of  tu- 
bercle bacilli,  the  melted  butter  should  be  centrifuged  and  the  sedi- 
ment injected.  In  this  way  the  bacterial  content  of  a  larger 
amount  of  material  can  be  placed  under  the  skin  of  the  test  ani- 
mal. The  sediment  may  also  be  examined  microscopically. 

EXPERIMENTAL,  WORK  ON  BUTTER 
Only  eight  samples  of  butter  have  been  examined 

SAMPLES  .        '        °  ~  . 

EXAMINED  m  our  laboratory.      Ihe  samples  were  all  obtained 

from  the  University  Experiment  Station  Cream- 
ery. The  milk  from  which  the  butter  was  made  came  from  the 
tuberculous  herd  of  the  University  Experiment  Station  and  from 
farmers'  herds  in  the  surrounding  neighborhood.  The  samples 
of  butter  were  furnished  us  directly  from  the  moulding  board  and 
were  put  into  3-ounce  sterile,  glass-stoppered,  wide-mouthed  bot- 
tles. The  butter  was  melted  and  three  cubic  centimeters  inocu- 
lated intraperitoneally  into  each  of  three  guinea  pigs.  The  results 
are  shown  in  Table  3. 


RESULTS  samples  two  were  lost  by  the  guinea 

pigs  dying  one  day  after  inoculation.  Of  the  six 
samples  completing  the  test,  two,  or  33^  percent,  contained  tu- 
bercle bacilli.  It  should  be  said  that  a  number  of  samples  of  milk 
from  the  University  herd  have  since  been  examined  and  none  of 
these  has  proved  to  be  tuberculous;  it  therefore  seems  probable 
that  the  tubercle  bacilli  came  from  some  one  of  the  farmers'  herds. 


79/7] 


TUBERCULOSIS  OF  FARM  ANIMALS 


331 


TABLE  3 — TUBERCLE  BACILLI  IN  BUTTER  FROM  THE  UNIVERSITY  DAIRY 


6 

o 
fc 

d 

^H.2 

*H 

^  a 
-2  2 

o  a 
•£L2 

01 

a 
.2 

4> 

DC 

*s 

°5 

"rt  "S 

o  re 

s 

ci 

U 

ri 

ID 

0)    ^H 

±J  3 
re  o 

"§  " 

£>"§ 

Autopsy 

ca  C 

°'s 

3 

-M 

3 
O 

o 

re 

.2 

P  2 

S  ^ 

rt  O 

."  rt 

o 

a 

CO 

'3 

.r< 

H  .5 

Jg  ^ 

'i 

O 

£ 

1 

3 

7-3-  '09 

Killed 

67 

Normal 

4 

7-3-  '09 

Killed 

67 

Normal 

5 

7-3-  '09 

Killed 

67 

Generalized  tuberculosis  in  the  lym- 

phatics, lungs,  liver,  spleen,  etc. 

-L. 

-[_ 

-|  —  1_ 

2 

6 

7-6-  '09 

Killed 

65 

Tuberculous  only  in  the  right  super- 

ficial inguinal  lymph  gland 

_|_ 

-[_ 

-|  —  L. 

7 

7-6-  '09 

Died 

10 

Acute  infection 

* 

# 

8 

7-6-  '09 

Killed 

65 

Generalized  tuberculosis  in  the  liver, 

spleen,  mesentery,  diaphragm,  lymph 

glands,  etc. 

-|- 

-j- 

-|  —  |- 

3 

24 

7-28-  ;  09 

Died 

1 

Acute  infection 

25 

7-28-  '09 

Died 

1 

Acute  infection 

26 

7-28-  '09 

Died 

1 

Acute  infection 

4 

27 

7-31-  '09 

Died 

1 

Acute  infection 

28 

7-31-  '09 

Died 

1 

Acute  infection 

29 

7-31-  '09 

Died 

1 

Acute  infection 

5 

33 

8-  8-  '09 

Killed 

59 

Normal 

34 

8-  8-  '09 

Killed 

59 

Normal 

35 

8-  8-  '09 

Killed 

59 

Normal 

6 

63 

8-14-  '09 

Killed 

55 

Normal 

64 

8-14-'09 

Killed 

55 

Normal 

65 

8-14-  '09 

Killed 

55 

Normal 

7 

90 

8-21-  '09 

Killed 

65 

Normal 

91 

8-21-'09 

Died 

1 

Acute  infection 

92 

8-21-  '09 

Killed 

65 

Normal 

8 

108 

8-28-  '09 

Died 

9 

Acute  infection 

109 

8-28-  '09 

Killed 

62 

I^arge  tumor  at  the  point  of  inocula- 

Nor- 

tion.     No  tubercles.      Organs  normal. 

t 

t 

mal 

110 

8-28-  '09 

Killed 

62 

Normal 

*Micrococci. 

fSeveral  kinds  of  bacteria  present. 

Summary:    Bight  samples,  two  lost;   of  the  other  six,  two  contained 
tubercle  bacilli,  33%  percent 

CONCLUSIONS 

1.  Bacillus  tuberculosis  is  widely  distributed  in  market  butter. 

2.  The  examinations  in  the  last  few  years  show  no  decrease  in 
the  percentage  of  samples  containing  tubercle  bacilli  as  compared 
with  the  first  work  twenty  years  ago. 

3.  Bacillus  tuberculosis  remains  alive  in  butter  as  ordinarily 
salted  for  a  much  longer  time  than  butter  is  usually  kept  in  storage. 

4.  Butter  containing  tubercle  bacilli,  when  fed  to  hogs,  may 
produce  generalized  tuberculosis. 

5.  Of  the  six  samples  of  butter  tested  by  us,  two,  or  33^3  per- 
cent, contained  tubercle  bacilli  virulent  to  guinea  pigs. 


332  BULLETIN    Xo.    149  [February, 

REFERENCES 

1.  Abenhausen,  Einige  Untersuchungen  iiber  das  Vorkommen  von 
Tuberkelbacillen  in  der  Marburger  Butter  und  Margarine.     (Disserta- 
tion, Marburg,  1900.)     Cited  by  Adolph  Reitz. 

2.  Annette,  Tubercle  bacilli  in  Margarine.    Lancet,  1900  (I)  :  161. 

3.  Aujeszky,  Ueber  das  Vorkommen  der  Tuberkelbacillen  in  der 
Budapester  Marktbutter.     Centralb.  fur  Bakt.  Abt.  I,  Orig.  31:  132. 
1902. 

4.  Ascher,  Untersuchungen  von  Butter  und  Milch  auf  Tuberkel- 
bacillen.  Ztschr.  f.  Hyg.  32:  329-344.     1899. 

5.  Bang,   B.,   Measures  against  tuberculosis   in   Denmark.      Sixth 
Internat.  Cong,  on  Tuberculosis  4,  part  2 :  863.     1908. 

6.  Bonhoff,  H.,  Ueber  das  Vorkommen  von  Tuberkelbacillen  in  der 
Marburger   Butter   und   Margarine.      Hyg.   Rundschau   10:   913-916. 
1900. 

7.  Brusaferro,    Alcune    esperienze    di    inoculazione    col   burro    del 
commercio.     Gironale  di  med.  veter.  prat.     Torino,  1890.     Cited  by 
Adolph  Reitz. 

8.  Coggi,  Sulla  presenza  di  bacilli  tubercolari  nel  burro  di  mer- 
catc  di  Milano.    Centralb.  f.  Bakt.  Abt.  I,  Ref.  27:  836.     1899. 

9.  Eber,  A.,  Untersuchungen  iiber  den  Tuberkelbazillengehalt  der 
in  Leipzig  zum  Verkauf  kommenden  Milch  und  Molkereiprodukte. 
Ztschr.  f.  Fl.  und  M.  Hyg.  18:  309-319.     1908. 

10.  Grassberger,  R.,  Ueber  die  nach  intraperitonealer  Injektion  von 
Marktbutter     bei     Meerschweinschen     entstehenden     Veranderungen. 
Munchener  med.  Wchnschr.  46:  341-344.     1899. 

11.  Groning,  Cited  in  Kolle  und  Wassermann,  Handbuch  der  path- 
ogenen  Mikroorganismen  2:  140. 

12.  Hellstrom,  F.  E.,  Ueber  Tuberkelbacillennachweis  in  Butter  und 
einigp.  vergleichende  Untersuchungen  iiber  pathogene  Keime  in  Butter 
aus    pasteurisiertem    und    nichtpasteurisiertem    Rahm.     Centralb.    f. 
Bakt.  Abt.  I,  Ref.  28:  542-555.     1900. 

13.  Herbert,  Untersuchungen  iiber  das  Vorkommen  von  Tuberkel- 
bacillen in  der  Marktbutter.    Cited  by  Adolph  Reitz. 

14.  Herr,  F.  und  Beninde,  M.,  Untersuchungen  iiber  das  Vorkom- 
men von  Tuberkelbacillen  in  der  Butter.     Ztschr.  f.  Hyg.  38:  152-181. 
1901. 

15.  Himesch,  cited  by  Adolph  Reitz. 

1 6.  Herman  und  Morganroth,  Ueber  Bakterienbefunde  in  der  But- 
ter.    Hyg.  Rundschau  8:  1081-1084.     1898. 

17.  Jager,  H.,  Ueber  die  Moglichkeit  tuberkuloser  Infektion  des 
Lymphsystems  durch  Milch  und  Milchprodukte.     Hyg.  Rundschau  9: 
801-817.     1899. 

18.  Korn,  Otto,  Znr  Kenntniss  der  saurefesten   Bakterien.     Cen- 
tralb. f.  Bakt.,  Abt.  I,  25:  532-537.     1899. 

19.  Lorenz,  Chemisch-bakteriologische  Untersuchungen  der  in  Jur- 


/pi/]  TUBERCULOSIS  OF  FARM  ANIMALS  333 

jew     (Dorpat)     vorkommenden    Kuhbutter.       (Dissertation,    Dorpal 
1901.)     Cited  by  Adolph  Reitz. 

20.  Markl,  Zur  Frage  des  Vorkommens  von  Tuberkelbacillen  ID 
der  Wiener  Marktbutter  und  Margarine.     Centralb.  f.  Bakt.,  Abt.  I, 
Ref.  29:  954.     1901. 

21.  Morganroth,  Ueber  das  Vorkommen  von  Tuberkelbacillen  in 
der  Margarine.     Hyg.  Rundschau  9:  1121.     1899. 

22.  Obermiiller,  Kuno,  Weitere  Mitteilungen  iiber  Tuberkelbacillen- 
befunde  in  der  Marktbutter.    Hyg.  Rundschau  9:  57-79.     1899. 

23.  Obermiiller,    Kuno,    Ueber    Tuberkelbacillenbefunde     in    der 
Marktbutter.     Hyg.  Rundschau  7:  712-714.     1897. 

24.  Obermiiller,    Kuno,    Ueber    Tuberkelbacillenbefunde     in     der 
Marktbutter.    Hyg.  Rundschau  5:  877.     1895. 

25.  Pawlowsky,  Untersuchungen  betreffend  die  Anwesenheit  von 
Tuberkelbacillen  in  der  Marktmilch  und  Butter.  Cited  by  Adolph  Reitz. 

26.  Petri,  R.  J.,  Zum  Nachweis  der  Tuberkelbacillen  in  Butter  und 
Milch.   Arb.  a.  d.  Ksrlchn.  Gesundheitsamte  14:  1-35.     1898. 

27.  Rabinowitsch,  Lydia,  Weitere  Untersuchungen  zur  Frage  des 
Vorkommens   von   Tuberkelbacillen   in   der    Marktbutter.      Cited   by 
Adolph  Reitz. 

28.  Rabinowitsch,  Lydia,  Zur  Frage  des  Vorkommens  von  Tuber- 
kelbacillen in  der  Marktbutter.    Ztschr.  f.  Hyg.  26:  90-111.     1897. 

29.  Reitz,  Adolph,  Bakteriologische  Untersuchungen  mit  der  Stutt- 
garter  Markt-  und  Handels-butter.     Arch.   f.  Hyg.  57:   1-28.     1906. 
Centralb.  f.  Bakt.,  Abt.  II,  16:  193-212.     1906. 

30.  Roth,  Ueber  die  mikroscopische  Untersuchung  der  Butter  auf 
Bakterien,  insbesondere  auf  Tuberkelbacillen.    Cited  by  Adolph  Reitz. 

31.  Schroeder,  E.  C.,  The  occurrence  and  significance  of  tubercle 
bacilli  in  the  feces  of  tuberculous  cattle.     Sixth  Internat.  Cong,  on 
Tuberculosis  4,  part  2:  599-606.     1908. 

32.  Schroeder  and  Cotton,  Tubercle  bacilli  in  butter;   their  occur- 
rence, vitality,  and  significance.     U.  S.  Dept.  Agr.,  Bureau  of  Animal 
Industry  Circular  127. 

33.  Schuchardt,  Einige  Untersuchungen  iiber  das  Vorkommen  von 
Tuberkelbacillen  in  der  Butter.     (Dissertation,  Marburg,  1896.)    Cited 
by  Adolph  Reitz. 

34.  Teichert,  Bakteriol.-chemische  Studien  iiber  die  Butter  in  der 
Provinz  Posen  mit  besonderer  Beriicksichtigung  der  Tuberkelbacillen. 
Cited  by  Adolph  Reitz. 

35.  Thu,   Hans,   Untersuchungen   auf   Tuberkelbacillen   in    Milch, 
Butter  und  Margarine  in  Christiana.     Centralb.  f.  Bakt.,  Abt.  I,  Ref. 
36:  597.     1902. 

36.  Tobler,  Maria,  Beitrag  zur  Frage  des  Vorkommens  von  Tu- 
berkelbacillen und  ancleren  saurefesten  Bacillen  in  der  Marktbutter. 
Ztschr.  f.  Hyg.  36:  120-148.     1901. 

37.  Weissenfeld,  Ueber  Bakterien  in  der  Butter  und  einigen  an- 
deren  Milchproclukten.     Berl.  klin.  Wchnschr.  36:   1053-1055.     1899. 


334 


BULLETIN   No.   149 


[February, 


EXAMINATION  OF  MARKET  MILK  FOR  TUBERCLE 

BACILLI 

LITERATURE 

The  literature  relating  to  the  tubercle  bacillus  in  milk  is  very 
extensive  and  we  must  content  ourselves  with  giving  it,  in  the 
main,  in  tabular  form,  as  in  the  case  of  market  butter.  The  cita- 
tions are  made  in  these  tables  in  the  same  way  as  they  were  in 
Table  i. 

In  these  tables  we  have  attempted  to  separate  the  literature 
concerning  the  presence  of  tubercle  bacilli  in  market  milk  from 
that  reporting  the  work  done  on  milk  of  tuberculin-reacting  cows 
with  sound  udders,  a  distinction  not  always  made  by  the  authors. 
For  this  reason,  it  may  be  that  some  items  are  misplaced  in  the 
tables,  but  in  the  main  they  are  correct  and  it  is  worth  while  to 
make  the  distinction.  There  are  two  distinct  questions  that  have 
called  forth  this  great  amount  of  work.  On  the  one  hand,  the 
investigators  have  sought  to  determine  the  percentage  of  the  sam- 
ples of  milk  found  on  the  market  containing  tubercle  bacilli,  and 
on  the  other  hand,  other  investigators  have  tried  to  determine 
whether  a  cow  which  evidently  reacts  to  tuberculin,  but  which  has 
sound  udders,  will  give  milk  containing  tubercle  bacilli.  Table  4 
gives  the  literature  on  the  bacilli  in  market  milk. 

TABLE  4 — BACILLUS  TUBERCULOSIS  IN  MARKET  MILK 


1 

1 

2 
3 

4 
5 
6 

7 
8 
9 
10 
11 
12 
13 
14 

15 
16 
17 
18 
1(> 

Author 

<u 
+-> 

a 

n 

Place 

Samples  I 
examined  | 

Samples  1 
positive  | 

Percent 
positive 

Remark 

Martin47    

1884 
1890 
1890 

1890 
1893 
1893 
1894 
1894 
1895 
1895 
1896 
1897 
1897 

1897 
1897 
1897 
1897 
1898 
1898 

9 
33 

(13) 

10 
80 
28 
33 
19 
30 
13 
6 
228 
67 

25 
144 

24 
(?) 
(?) 

57 

3 

(1) 
3 

0 

4 
4 
0 
1 
0 
8 
2 
12 
9 

7 

4 
7 
(?) 
(?) 
9 

33.3 
3.3 
23.1 

0.0 
5.0 
14.3 
0.0 
5.3 
0.0 
61.5 
33.3 
5.2 
13.4 

28  0 
2.8 
29  1 
9.0 
2.5 
17.5 

12  samples,  3  lost 
Microscopic 
Animal 
inociilation 

City  milk 
Country 

9  samples,  3  lost 
City  milk 
Country 

City  milk 
Country  milk 

Corrected  fierures 

Ernst13  

Boston  

Ernst13  

Boston.    .... 

Munich    .... 
St.  Petersburg.. 
Copenhagen  . 
Copenhagen  . 
Washington.. 
Newark   
Berlin.. 

Gebhardt1"6  

Sacharbekow37  

Friis15  

Friis15  

Schroeder38  

Chester10  

Obermiiller30  

Bup£re8    . 

Halle  
Liverpool  .... 
Liverpool  .... 

Berlin  

Hope18  

Hope18  

Rabinowitsch 
and  Kempner36  

Boyce5*6     *  

Liverpool.  .  . 
Liverpool.  .  .  - 
Genoa  

Boyce5&e  

Massone28  

Kudinow**  

Dorpat  

Petri33.. 

Berlin  . 

TUBERCULOSIS  OF  FARM  ANIMALS 


335 


TABLE  4  —  Continued 


6 
Z 

Author 

4) 
-4-> 

n) 
O 

Place 

Samples 
examined 

Samples  1 
positive 

Percent 
positive 

Remark 

20 
21 

22 
23 
24 
25 

26 

27 
28 
29 
30 
31 
32 
33 
34 
35 
36 
37 
38 

39 
40 
41 

42 
43 
44 
45 

46 

47 

48 
49 
50 
51 

52 
53 

54 
55 
56 
57 
58 
59 

Ott31  

1898 
1898 

1898 
1898 
1898 
1898 
1899 
1899 
1899 
1899 
1899 
1899 
1899 
1900 
1900 
1900 
1900 
1900 
1900 

1<JOO 
1900 
1900 

1901 
1901 
1901 
1902 

1904 
1904 

1905 
1906 
1906 

1907 
1907 

1907 
1908 
1908 
1908 
1908 
1909 
1909 

Schw.  Gmiind 
Schw.  Gmiind 

Liverpool   .  .  . 
Liverpool  .  -  . 
Liverpool   .  .  . 
Liverpool  .  . 
Liverpool  .  .  . 
Liverpool  .  .  . 
Kdnigsberg.  . 
Konigsberg.  . 
England  

43 

(27) 

54 
125 
84 
28 
75 
63 
17 
100 
77 
16 
50 
12 
14 
50 
3 
5 
100 

51 

60 
56 

(?) 
(?) 
38 
44 

1596 

272 

567 
1584 
764 

13 
9 

5 
223 
210 
50 
50 
119 
105 

176 

7397 
7573 

5 
(3) 

3 
22 
7 
5 
5 
11 
0 
7 
17 
9 
5 
6 
7 
1 
0 
3 
7 

1 
2 
17 

(?) 
(?) 
0 
0 

97 

27 

14 

45 
some 

5 
5 

0 
15 
22 
3 
2 
46 
17 

11.6 
11.1 

5.5 
17.6 
8.3 
17.9 
6.6 
17.4 
0.0 
7.0 
22.1 
56.3 
10  0 
50.0 
50.0 
2.0 
0.0 
60.0 
7.0 

2.0 
3.3 
30.3 

12.0 
11.0 
0.0 
0.0 

6.2 
10.0 

2.7 
2.8 
? 

38.5 
55.5 

0.0 
6.7 
10.5 
6.0 
4.0 
39  5 
16.2 

Microscopic 
Animal 
inoculation 
City  milk 
Country  milk 
City  milk 
Country 
City  milk 
Country 
Reacting  cows 
Microscopic 
100samples,231ost 

14  samples,  2  lost 
Second  series 

Tested  cows 
Cows  not  tested 
8  pseudo- 
tuberculosis 

15  pseudo- 
tuberculosis 

1  pseudo- 
tuberculosis 
59  tubercu- 
lous udders 
14  tubercu- 
lous udders 

From  565  farms 

1  pseudo- 
tuberculosis 

Inspected  dairies 
272  samples,  49  lost 
Milk 
Cream 
Cottage  cheese 

Ott31  

Dele'pine1  1  

Boyce5    

Boyce5  

Boyce5     

Boyce5  

Ascher2  

Jaeger1  9  

Macfadyen23  

Kanthack  and  Sladen20 
Woodhead  and  Wood42. 
Marconi2  5  •  • 

Cambridge.  .  . 
Liverpool    .  . 
Naples  

Marconi25  

Naples  

Marshall2'      

Lansing,  Mich. 
Berlin     

Rabinowitsch3  5  

Rabinowitsch35    ... 
Klein21  

Berlin  

London  
Kiew  

Pawlowsky  3  2     

Bujwid9       .... 

Krakow   .... 

Beck4    

Berlin  

Magill24  

Paris  
New  York..  .  . 
Padua  

Magill2  "  

Tonzig41   

Thu40  

Christiana  .  .  . 
Germany  
Germany  ... 

Rotterdam.  .  . 
Rotterdam.  . 
Manchester.  . 

Denmark  .... 
Berlin  

Muller29  

Beatty3    

Smit39     

Smit39  

Brittlebank7  

Proskauer,    Seligmann 
and  Croner34  

Proskauer,     Seligmann 
and  Croner34.             
Proskauer,     Seligmann 
and  Croner3  4  

Berlin  

Anderson  1  

Washington.. 
Leipsic  

Eber12  

Eber12         

Leipsic    .  •    • 
Leipsic    
Louisville.  .  .  . 
New  York   .  . 

Eber12  

Field14  

Hess17  

Microscopic  tests 
Animal  inoculatic 
Totals 

13 
502 
515 

7.4 
6.8- 
6.8+ 

>n  te 

sts  

336  BULLETIN   No.   149  [February, 

The  determination  of  tubercle  bacilli  in  milk  is  not  a  very  dif- 
ficult problem.  In  this  no  attempt  is  made  to  find  the  source  from 
which  the  bacilli  entered  the  milk ;  whether  from  tuberculous  cows 
or  from  tuberculous  persons  handling  the  milk ;  whether  from  the 
infected  udder  or  from  infected  manure  or  dirt  falling  into  the 
milk  at  milking  time  or  otherwise.  Most  tests  have  been  made 
by  animal  inoculation,  and  this  to  a  large  extent  insures  that  the 
organisms  found  here  have  been  true  tubercle  bacilli. 

As  may  be  seen  in  Table  4,  work  was  done  upon  this  subject 
as  early  as  1884  by  Martin.  The  first  extensive  work  carried 
out  in  the  United  States  was  by  Ernst  in  1890.  More  extensive 
investigations  have  been  made  by  the  boards  of  health  of  Liver- 
pool and  London,  the  work  being  reported  by  Hope,  Delepine, 
Boyce,  and  others.  More  especial  mention  may  be  made  of  the 
results  of  Mueller  and  Beatty,  who  for  several  years  carried  out 
tests  for  the  East  Prussian  Herdbook  Society.  They  examined 
bacteriologically  the  mixed  milk  of  dairy  herds  as  a  whole.  Their 
purpose  was  to  discover  and  remove  from  the  herd,  cows  with 
tuberculous  udders.  They  thot  that  in  this  way  they  would  be 
able  to  prevent  most  of  the  infection  by  tubercle  bacilli  in  dairy 
products.  In  this  work  Mueller  has  examined  1596  samples  of 
milk  and  found  97,  or  6.2  percent,  containing  tubercle  bacilli. 
Beatty  examined  272  samples  and  found  27,  or  10  percent,  con- 
taining these  organisms.  Further  details  of  their  paper  will  be 
found  in  the  next  section1  of  this  bulletin. 

Anderson  has  examined  milk  from  102  dairies  supplying  the 
City  of  Washington.  The  herds  supplying  milk  to  this  city  con- 
tained considerable  numbers  of  tuberculous  cows  as  recent  tuber- 
culin tests  (1907)  by  Mohler  had  shown  214  reacting  animals  out 
of  1147  tested,  or  18.6  percent.  Other  tests  by  the  District  Health 
Department  upon  1095  cows  in  51  herds  in  Virginia,  Maryland, 
and  the  District  of  Columbia,  also  supplying  milk  to  the  City  of 
Washington,  detected  160  reacting  animals,  or  15.1  percent.  An- 
derson considers  these  percentages  considerably  below  the  actual 
amount  of  tuberculosis  in  the  dairy  cows  supplying  that  city,  be- 
cause, he  says,  only  the  owners  of  herds  supposed  to  be  free  from 
tuberculosis  permitted  the  tests  to  be  made.  The  author  collected 
his  samples  in  one-pint  bottles  with  untampered  stoppers.  Fifty 
cubic  centimeters  of  milk  were  added  to  one  hundred  cubic  centi- 
meters of  water  (to  decrease  the  specific  gravity)  and  the  mixture 
was  centrifuged  for  one  hour  at  2000  revolutions  per  minute. 
One  guinea  pig  was  inoculated  subcutaneously  with  5  cc.  of  the 
sediment.  The  eight  guinea  pigs  (usually  only  eight  samples 
were  tested  per  day)  were  placed  together  in  the  same  cage,  those 
that  remained  healthy  being  controls  on  their  environment.  Many 
animals  died  of  acute  infections  with  other  bacteria  in  the  milk  but 


TUBERCULOSIS  OF  FARM  ANIMALS  337 

no  attempt  was  made  to  identify  any  but  the  tubercle  bacilli.  In 
order  to  distinguish  a  tuberculous  from  a  non-tuberculous  guinea 
pig,  2  cc.  of  crude  tuberculin  was  injected  subcutaneously  into  each 
animal.  This  killed  or  made  very  sick  any  guinea  pig  that  had 
tuberculosis.  About  250  guinea  pigs  received  the  tuberculin  in 
this  way  and  no  animal  died  that  did  not  have  tuberculosis.  Two 
or  three  animals  that  had  slight  lesions  did  not  die,  but  became 
very  sick.  All  animals  died  whose  lesions  had  caseated.  The  au- 
thor thinks  the  procedure  a  distinct  help  in  eliminating  infections 
with  other  acid-fast  organisms.  Samples  from  102  dairies  were 
tested.  The  milk  from  n,  or  10.7  percent,  of  these  102  dairies 
contained  tubercle  bacilli.  Of  the  272  samples  of  milk  tested,  49, 
or  1 8  percent,  were  lost  by  the  test  animal  dying  too  early.  Of 
the  223  samples  remaining,  15,  or  6.72  percent,  were  tuberculous. 
Hess  studied  the  milk  supply  of  New  York  City  with  three 
questions  in  mind : 

1.  What  percentage  of  market  milk  in  a  large  city  like  New 
York  contains  tubercle  bacilli? 

2.  What  percentage  of  the  tubercle  bacilli  in  milk  is  of  bovine 
and  what  is  of  human  origin? 

3.  What  effect  has  this  tuberculous  milk  upon  children? 

The  samples  were  taken  from  large  4O-quart  cans,  and  not 
from  bottle-milk.  This  was  done  because  more  than  half  the  milk 
sold  in  New  York  City  is  not  bottled  but  is  the  so-called  "loose 
milk."  The  milk  was  collected  in  one-ounce,  tight  fitting,  tin- 
capped  bottles.  It  was  taken  indiscriminately  from  grocery 
stores,  dairies,  and  large  plants  in  various  quarters  of  the  city. 
Usually  the  milk  was  collected  by  the  investigator  himself.  Each 
sample  was  tested  by  microscopic  examination  of  stained  prepara- 
tions and  by  the  inoculation  of  two  guinea  pigs.  The  milk  was 
centrifuged  and  the  cream  dipped  off  with  a  sterile  copper  spoon 
and  placed  in  a  sterile  Petri  dish.  The  "skim  milk"  was  then 
poured  off.  Microscopic  preparations  were  made  from  the  sedi- 
ment and  the  cream.  These  were  then  mixed  and  injected  into  the 
animals.  Of  112  samples  tested,  5  were  lost — the  guinea  pigs 
dying  before  sufficient  time  had  elapsed  to  detect  tubercle  bacilli — 
and  2  were  duplicates.  The  remaining  105  (the  author  says  107) 
gave  17  positive  tests,  or  16.2  percent  (author  gives  16  percent). 
There  were  also  examined  8  samples  of  commercial  pasteurized 
milk,  and  of  these  one  was  found  to  contain  tubercle  bacilli.  The 
dealers  stated  that  the  milk  had  been  pasteurized  at  160°  F.  for 
forty  seconds. 

In  order  to  answer  the  second  question,  whether  the  tubercle 
bacilli  found  in  the  milk  are  of  the  human  or  the  bovine  type,  eight 
•cultures  were  isolated  and  worked  with.  In  two  other  cases  this 


338  BULLETIN  No.   149  [February, 

was  attempted,  but  the  cultures  failed.  Of  these,  seven  conformed 
to  the  bovine  type  and  one  culture  conformed  to  the  human  type. 
The  author  had  collected  samples  especially  from  such  dealers 
as  had  children  and  gave  their  children  raw  milk  from  the  cans  in 
the  store.  Of  the  17  dealers  selling  milk  which  contained  tubercle 
bacilli,  10  belonged  to  this  category.  These  ten  milk  dealers  had 
eighteen  children.  Sixteen  of  these  children  were  tested  with 
tuberculin;  four  reacted.  One  of  these  cases  was  of  especial  in- 
terest. This  child  consumed  daily  a  pint  of  the  poorest  milk  ex- 
amined. She  was  two  years  old,  poorly  nourished,  and  five  months 
before  had  developed  a  cervical  adenitis,  which  was  incised  at  a 
dispensary.  No  other  member  of  the  family  appeared  to  be  tuber- 
culous. Recently  the  author  was  able  to  collect  44  human  cases 
of  undoubted  bovine  tuberculous  infection  of  the  mesenteric 
glands,  41  of  which  occurred  in  children.  He  thinks  that  the  re- 
lation of  bovine  tuberculosis  to  man  may  be  fairly  stated  as  fol- 
lows: i.  The  bovine  type  of  tubercle  bacillus,  altho  less  virulent 
for  man  than  the  human  variety,  is  capable  of  infecting  human  be- 
ings. 2.  Children  are  more  susceptible  than  adults  to  bovine  in- 
fection. 

EXPERIMENTAL, 

COLLECTION  Champaign  and  Urbana  are  practically  one  city 
OF  SAMPLES  and  m°st  of  the  milkmen  deliver  milk  in  both 
towns.  The  samples  were  bought  on  the  streets 
as  the  milkmen  were  delivering  milk  to  their  customers.  They 
were  all  collected  in  pint  or  quart  bottles  with  untampered  stop- 
pers. After  bringing  the  bottle  to  the  laboratory,  it  was  well 
shaken. 

TESTING  OF         Eighty   cubic  centimeters  were   placed   into   four 
SAMPLES  sterile  centrifuge  tubes  and  these  were  centrifuged 

for  thirty  minutes  at  1800  revolutions  per  min- 
ute. Then  the  milk  was  drawn  from  the  middle  of  the  tube  with 
a  Pasteur  bulb  pipette  and  the  cream  and  sediment  of  the  four 
tubes  put  into  one  tube ;  this  was  again  centrifuged  thirty  minutes 
at  2000  to  3000  revolutions  per  minute.  The  middle  portion  was 
drawn  off  from  this  tube  and  the  remaining  cream  and  sediment 
of  the  80  cc.  of  milk  was  injected  subcutaneously  into  three  guinea 
pigs  in  graded  doses,  usually  four,  three,  and  one  and  one-half 
cubic  centimeters  respectively.  In  a  number  of  cases  one  or  two 
of  the  guinea  pigs  died  too  early  to  test  the  presence  of  tubercle 
bacilli ;  but  in  only  two  cases  did  all  the  guinea  pigs  from  any  one 
sample  die  too  early.  Thirty-seven  of  the  thirty-nine  samples 
completed  the  test.  Tubercle  bacilli  were  not  found  in  any  sample. 
The  results  are  recorded  in  Table  5. 


1911] 


TUBERCULOSIS  OF  FARM  ANIMALS 


339 


TABLE  5 — TUBERCLE  BACILLI  IN  MARKET  MILK  OF  CHAMPAIGN  AND  URBANA 


Dairy 
number 

Sample 
number 

Guinea  pig 
number 

Date  of 
inoculation 

Mode  of 
death 

Days  after 
inoculation 

Autopsy 

Tubercu- 
losis 

1 

1 

329 

3-16-'09 

Died 

2 

Acute   infection 

330 

" 

Killed 

63 

Normal 

0 

331 

" 

Killed 

63 

Normal 

0 

2 

387 

4-26-  '09 

Killed 

37 

Normal 

0 

388 

<  t 

Died 

1 

Acute   infection 

389 

n 

Died 

2 

Acute   infection 

3 

413 

6-10-'09 

Died 

26 

No  tubercles 

0 

414 

" 

Killed 

43 

Normal 

0 

415 

" 

Died 

26 

No  tubercles 

0 

4 

443 

6-18-  '09 

Died 

18 

No  tubercles 

0 

444 

« 

Killed 

42 

Normal 

0 

445 

" 

Killed 

42 

Normal 

0 

2 

5 

332 

3-18-  '09 

Died 

24 

No  tubercles 

0 

333 

i  4 

Killed 

61 

Normal 

0 

334 

(i 

Died 

16 

Acute   infection 

0 

6 

398 

6-4-  '09 

Died 

3 

Acute   infection 

*  •  •  . 

399 

a 

Died 

2 

Acute   infection 

400 

^t 

Died 

1 

Acute   infection 

7 

410 

6-10-  '09 

Killed 

43 

Normal 

"6" 

411 

" 

Died 

27 

No  tubercles 

0 

412 

" 

Died 

27 

No  tubercles 

0 

3 

•8 

341 

3-29-  '09 

Killed 

50 

Normal 

0 

342 

" 

Killed 

50 

Normal 

0 

343 

ti 

Died 

11 

Acute   infection 

9 

395 

6-4-'09 

Died 

38 

No  tubercles 

"o 

396 

" 

Killed 

49 

Normal 

0 

397 

11 

Killed 

49 

Normal 

0 

10 

428 

6-1  7-  '09 

Died 

26 

No  tubercles 

0 

429 

" 

Killed 

43 

Normal 

0 

430 

" 

Killed 

43 

Normal 

0 

4 

11 

350 

3-30-  '09 

Died 

46 

No  tubercles 

0 

351 

'" 

Died 

11 

No  tubercles 

352 

" 

Killed 

49 

Norm  al 

6 

12 

401 

6-4-  '09 

Killed 

49 

Normal 

0 

402 

" 

Died 

32 

•   No  tubercles 

0 

403 

« 

Killed 

49 

Normal 

0 

13 

533 

8-31-  '09 

Killed 

43 

Normal 

0 

534 

" 

Killed 

43 

Normal 

0 

535 

" 

Died 

4 

Acute   Infection 

5 

14 

344 

3-29-  '09 

Died 

14 

No  tubercles 

6 

345 

" 

Died 

17 

No  tubercles 

0 

346 

" 

Killed 

50 

Normal 

0 

15 

437 

6-17-'09 

Killed 

43 

Normal 

0 

438 

Killed 

43 

Normal 

0 

439 

Killed 

43 

Normal 

0 

6 

16 

353 

3-30-'09 

Killed 

49 

Normal 

0 

354 

Killed 

49 

Normal 

0 

355 

Died 

2 

Acute   infection 

17 

404 

6-9-  '09 

Died 

5 

Acute   infection 

405 

" 

Killed 

44 

Normal 

0 

406 

11 

Killed 

46 

Normal 

0 

7 

18 

416 

6-ll-'09 

Killed 

42 

Normal 

0 

417 

" 

Died 

23 

No  tubercles 

0 

418 

" 

Killed 

42 

Normal 

0 

19 

452 

6-21-'09 

Died 

21 

No  tubercles 

0 

453 

" 

Died 

21 

No  tubercles 

0 

454 

<  i  : 

Died 

21 

No  tubercles 

0 

340 


BULLETIN   No.   149 


[February, 


TABLE  5. — Continued 


Dairy 
number 

Sample 
number 

be 

1* 

P 

•9  S 

^  § 
0  c 

Date  of 
inoculation 

Mode  of 
death 

Days  after 
inoculation 

Autopsy 

Tubercu- 
losis 

8 

20 

419 

6-11-  '09 

Died 

24 

No  tubercles 

0 

420 

!< 

Killed 

42 

Normal 

0 

421 

" 

Killed 

42 

Normal 

0 

21 

458 

6-22-  '09 

Killed 

44 

Normal 

0 

459 

" 

Died 

2 

Acute   infection 

460 

" 

Killed 

44 

Normal 

0 

9 

22 

422 

6-11-  '09 

Killed 

42 

Normal 

0 

423 

" 

Killed 

42 

Normal 

0 

424 

" 

Died 

27 

No  tubercles 

0 

23 

455 

6-21-  '09 

Killed 

45 

Normal 

0 

456 

" 

Killed 

45 

Normal 

0 

457 

(i 

Died 

15 

Acute   infection 

0 

10 

24 

425 

6-11-  '09 

Died 

6 

Acute   infection 

426 

" 

Killed 

49 

Normal 

'6 

427 

(i 

Killed 

49 

Normal 

0 

25 

536 

8-31-'09 

Died 

3 

Acute   infection 

537 

" 

Died 

3 

Acute   infection 

538 

" 

Killed 

43 

Normal 

0 

11 

26 

434 

6-17-  '09 

Died 

23 

No  tubercles 

0 

435 

« 

Died 

22 

No  tubercles 

0 

436 

« 

Killed 

43 

Normal 

0 

27 

467 

6-23-  '09 

Died 

1 

Acute   infection 

468 

.  i 

Died 

13 

Acute   infection 

469 

ti 

Killed 

43 

Normal 

"6 

12 

28 

446 

6-18-  '09 

Died 

18 

No  tubercles 

0 

447 

" 

Killed 

42 

Normal 

0 

.  448 

M 

Killed 

42 

Normal 

0 

29 

464 

6-22-  '09 

Killed 

44 

Normal 

0 

465 

« 

Killed 

44 

Normal 

0 

466 

a 

Killed 

44 

Normal 

0 

13 

30 

407 

6-9-  '09 

Died 

26 

No  tubercles 

0 

408 

" 

Killed 

44 

Normal 

0 

409 

" 

Died 

26 

No  tubercles 

0 

31 

470 

6-23-  '09 

Died 

13 

Acute   infection 

471 

" 

Died 

13 

Acute   infection 

472 

4  4 

Died 

13 

Acute   infection 

14 

32 

347 

3^29-  '09 

Killed 

50 

Normal 

0 

348 

" 

Killed 

50 

Normal 

0 

349 

K 

Died 

5 

Acute   infection 

15 

33 

431 

6-17-  '09 

Killed 

43 

Normal 

0 

432 

" 

Died 

23 

No  tubercles 

0 

433 

" 

Killed 

43 

Normal 

0 

16 

34 

440 

6-1  8-  '09 

Killed 

42 

Normal 

0 

441 

" 

Killed 

42 

Normal 

0 

442 

" 

Killed 

42 

Normal 

0 

17 

35 

449 

6-21-  '09 

Died 

15 

Acute   infection 

0 

450 

" 

Died 

21 

Acute   infection 

0 

451 

1  1 

Killed 

39 

Normal 

0 

18 

36 

461 

6-22-  '09 

Died 

2 

Acute   infection 

462 

" 

Died 

2 

Acute   infection 

.... 

463 

" 

Killed 

44 

Normal 

0 

19 

37 

358 

4-2-  '03 

Killed 

48 

Normal 

0 

359 

n 

Died 

8 

Acute   infection 

360 

" 

Killed 

48 

Normal 

6 

20 

38 

361 

4-2-  '09 

Died 

8 

Acute   infection 

... 

362 

" 

Killed 

46 

Normal 

0 

363 

" 

Died 

9 

Acute  infection 

21 

39 

384 

4-26-  '09 

Killed 

37 

Normal 

6 

385 

« 

Died 

1 

Acute   infection 

386 

K 

Died 

2 

Acute   infection 

TUBERCULOSIS  OF  FARM  ANIMALS  341 

CONCLUSIONS 

1.  According  to  the   literature   reviewed,   tubercle  bacilli   are 
very  common  in  market  milk,  being  found,  in  the  7845  samples 
tabulated  in  Table  4,  537  times,  or  6.8  percent. 

2.  A  composite  of  the  three  largest  testings  done  in  the  United 
States  in  1908  and  1909,  those  of  Anderson  (Washington),  Fields 
(Louisville),  and  Hess   (New  York  City),  gives  a  total  number 
of  447  samples,  of  which  the  number  containing  tubercle  bacilli  is 
78  or   17.5   percent.     The   four  largest  series  of  tests  in  Conti- 
nental Europe,  those  of   Mueller,   Beatty,   Smit  and  Eber,  com- 
prise a  total  of  4229  samples,  and  of  these  only  205  or  4.8  percent 
contained  tubercle  bacilli. 

3.  The  testing  of  thirty-seven  samples  of  market  milk  from 
Champaign  and  Urbana,  from  twenty-one  dairies,  revealed  no  tu- 
bercle bacilli. 

REFERENCES 

1.  Anderson,  J.  F.,  The  frequency  of  tubercle  bacilli  in  the  market 
milk  of  Washington,  D.  C.    U.  S.  Hyg.  Lab.  Bull.  41 :  163-192.    1908. 
Also,  Jour.  Inf.  Dis.  5:  107-115.     1908. 

2.  Ascher,  Untersuchungen  von  Butter  und  Milch  auf  Tuberkel- 
bacillen.     Ztschr.  f.  Hyg.  32:  329-344.     1899. 

3.  Beatty,  Cited  by  Miiller. 

4.  Beck,  M.,  Experimented  Beitrage  zur  Untersuchung  iiber  die 
Marktmilch.     Hyg.  Rundschau  11:  490.     1901. 

5.  Boyce,  published  by  Annette,  Lancet,  1898  (I)  :  159. 

6.  Boyce,  Woodhead,  Delepine  and  Hamilton,   (British  Med.  Jour. 
1897  (II)  :  162.)     Cited  by  Cornet  und  Meyer  in  Kolle  und  Wasser- 
mann,  Hanclbuch  der  pathogenen  Mikroorganismen  2:  140. 

7.  Brittlebank,  J.  W.,  Milk  and  tuberculosis.     (Veterinary  Record 
19: '164.     1906)  Ref.  in  Exp.  Sta.  Record  18:  581. 

8.  Buege,  Ueber  die  Untersuchung  der  Milch  auf  Tuberkelbacillen. 
(Inaug.  Dissertation,  Halle,  1896.)    Centralb.  f.  Bakt,  Abt.  I,  Ref. 
21:  70.     1896. 

9.  Bujwid,  0.,  Ergebnisse  der  Milchuntersuchung  in  Krakau  be- 
ziiglich  des  Tuberkelbacillengehaltes.     Centralb.  f.  Bakt.,  Abt.  I,  Ref. 
30:  213.     1900. 

10.  Chester,  F.  D.,  Test  of  feeding  the  milk  of  a  tuberculous  cow 
to  guinea  pigs.     Delaware  Agr.  Exp.  Sta.  Ann.  Report  1895:  p.  no. 

11.  Delepine,  S.,  (Brit.  Mecl.  Jour.  1898  (II)  :  918.)     Lancet  1898 
(II)  :  733-738. 

12.  Eber,  A.,  Untersuchungen  liber  den  Ttiberkelbacillengehalt  der 
in   Leipzig  zum   Verkauf   kommenden   Milch   und   Molkereiprodukte. 
Ztschr.  f.  Fleisch-  und  Milch-Hyg.  18:  309-319.     1908. 

T3_  Ernst,  H.  C.,  How  far  may  a  cow  be  tuberculous  before  her 
milk  becomes  dangerous  as  an  article  of  food?  Hatch  Exp.  Sta., 
Mass.  Agr.  Coll.  Bull.  8:  1-38.  1890. 


342  BULLETIN  No.   149  [February, 

14.  Field,  Cyrus  W.,  Tubercule  bacilli  in  market  milk,  Louisville, 
Ky.    Louisville  Times,  July,  1909. 

15.  Friis,  St.,   Beitrag  zur   Beleuchtung  der  Frage  iiber   die  An- 
steckungsgefahr   der   Handelsmilch  mit  Bezug  auf  die  Tuberculose. 
Cited  by  Mohler. 

1 6.  Gebhardt,   Franz,   Experimented   Untersuchungen  uber     den 
Einfluss      der    Verdunnung   auf    die    Wirksamkeit   des   tuberkulosen 
Giftes.    Virch.  Arch.  119:  127-148.     1890. 

17.  Hess,  Alfred  H.,  The  incidence  of  tubercle  bacilli  in  New  York 
City  milk.    Jour.  Am.  Med.  Assoc.  52:  1011-1016.     1909. 

18.  Hope,  W.  E.,  Report  of  the  Medical  Officer  of  Health,  Liver- 
pool, 1897,  on  tuberculosis  as  affecting  the  milk  supply  of  the  city. 
Cited  by  Anderson. 

19.  Jaeger,  H.,  Ueber  die  Moglichkeit  tuberkuloser  Infection  des 
Lymphsystems  durch  Milch  und  Milchprodukte.     Hyg.  Rundschau  9: 
801-817.     1899. 

20.  Kanthack  and  Sladen,   Influence  of  the  milk   supply  on  the 
spread  of  tuberculosis.     Lancet  1899  (I)  :  74- 79. 

21.  Klein,  E.,  Zur  Kenntniss  der  Verbreitung  des  B.  tuberculosis 
und  pseudotuberculosis  in  der  Milch  sowie  der  Biologic  des  Bacillus 
tuberculosis.     Centralb.  f.  Bakt.  28:  111-114.     1901. 

22.  Kudinow,  N.  P.,  Bakteriologische  Untersuchungen  der  in  Jur- 
jfew    verkauflichen    Milch.      (Deutsche   Ztschr.    Thiermed.    und   ver- 
gleichende  Path.     2:  147-151.     1898.)     Cited  by  Mohler. 

23.  Macfadyen,  Allen,  Spread  of  tuberculosis  by  milk.    A  report 
to  the  Hackney  Vestry.    Lancet  1899  (I)  :  849-850. 

24.  Magill,  Discussion.     Sixth  Internat.     Cong,  on  Tuberculosis 
4,  part  2:  531.     1908. 

25.  Marconi,  II  latte  di  vacca  a  Napoli  in  rapporto  con  1'igiene  e 
con  la  tuberculosi.      (La  Riforma  Veterinaria  3:  435-452;  483-559. 
1900.)     Cited  by  Mohler. 

26.  Marshall,  C.  E.,  Mich.  Agr.  Coll.  Exp.  Sta.  Bull.  184:  207-266. 
1900. 

27.  Martin,  Hippolyte,  Recherches  ayant  pour  but  de  demontrer 
la    frequence   de   la  tuberculose,   consecutive    a   1'inoculation    de   lait 
vendu  a  Paris,  sous  les  portes  cocheres.      (Revue  de  Med.  4:   150- 
161.     1884.)     Cited  by  Mohler. 

28.  Massone,"  A.,   Sulla  presenza  del  bacillo  tuberculare  nel  latte 
del  mercato  di  Geneva.     (Annali  d'igiene  sperimentale  1897  p.  239.) 
Ref.   Hyg.  Rundcshau  7:  605.     1897. 

29.  Miiller,  0.,  Milk  and  dairy  products  as  sources  of  infection  in 
tuberculosis.  Jour.  Comp.  Path,  and  Ther.  19:  19-33.     1906. 

30.  Obermiiller,   Kuno,   Ueber     Tuberkelbacillenbefunde     in     der 
Marktmilch.     Hyg.  Rundschau  5:  877-883.     1895. 

31.  Ott,  Ein  weiterer  Beitrag  zur  Milch-hygiene,  Ztschr.  f.  Fleisch- 
und  Milch-Hyg.  8:  69.     if 


TUBERCULOSIS  OF  FARM  ANIMALS  343 

32.  Pawlowsky,   Untersuchungen  betreffend   die   Anwesenheit  von 
Tuberkelbacillen  in  der  Marktmilch  und  Butter.     (Bericht,  10  internat. 
Kong.  f.  Hyg.  und  Demographic.)     Cited  by  Adolph  Reitz. 

33.  Petri,  Zum  Nachweis   der   Tuberkelbacillen   in     Butter     und 
Milch.    Arb.  a.  d.  Ksrlchn.  Gesundheitsamte  14:  1-35.     1898. 

34.  Proskauer,   Seligmann  und   Croner,   Ueber   die   Beschaffenheit 
der  in  Berlin  eingefuhrten  danischen  Milch.     Ztschr.  f.  Hyg.  57:  173- 
247.     1907. 

35.  Rabinowitsch,  Lydia,  (Deutsche  med.  Woch.  26:  416.     1900.) 
Cited  by  Anderson. 

36.  Rabinowitsch  und  Kempner,  Beitrag  zur  Frage  der  Infectiositat 
der  Milch  tuberculoser  Kiihe,  sowie  uber  den  Nutzen  der  Tubercu- 
linimpfung.     Ztschr.  f.  Hyg.  31;  137-152.     1899. 

37.  Sacharbekow.     Cited  by  Mohler. 

38.  Schroeder,   E.    C.,   Further   experimental   observations   on   the 
presence  of  tubercle  bacilli  in  the  milk  of  cows.     U.S.  Dept.  Agr. 
Bur.  Animal  Industry  Bull.  7:  75.     1894. 

39.  Smit,  H.  J.,  Ueber  das  Vorkommen  von  Tuberkelbacillen  in 
der   Milch  und  den  Lymphdrusen   des   Rindes.     Centralb.    f.   Bakt., 
Abt.  I,  Orig.  49:  36-71.     1905. 

40.  Thu,  Hans,  Untersuchungen  auf  Tuberkelbacillen     in     Milch, 
Butter  und  Margarine  in  Christiana.     Centralb.  f.  Bakt.  Abt.  I,  Ref. 
36:  597.     1902. 

41.  Tonzig,  C.,  Ueber  den  Anteil,  den  die  Milch  an  der  Verbrei- 
tung  der  Tuberkulose  nimmt,  mit  besonderen  Untersuchungen  uber 
die  Milch  des  Paduaner  Markts.    Arch.  f.  Hyg.  41:  46-67.     1902. 

42.  Woodhead  and  Wood,  Tuberculosis  and  Milk  supply.     Lancet 
1899  (I)  :  395-396. 


LITERATURE 
Few  of  the  earlier  investigations  concerning:  tu- 

GENERALCON-  .  °  °     . 

SIDERATIONS  bercle  bacilli  in  milk  of  tuberculous  cows  with 
sound  udders  are  free  from  objection.  The  ease 
with  which  milk  is  contaminated  from  outside  sources  was  not 
then  appreciated,  as  it  is  today.  While  in  the  case  of  market  milk 
the  problem  is  to  determine  only  the  presence  or  absence  of  tu- 
bercle bacilli  in  the  milk  regardless  of  the  source  of  infection, 
here  it  is  desired  to  know  whether  or  not  the  sound  udders  of  tu- 
berculous cows  secrete  tubercle  bacilli  along  with  the  milk.  So  it 
is  necessary  to  prevent  any  contamination  from  outside  sources, 
such  as  the  falling  into  the  milk  of  manure  infected  with  tubercle 
bacilli,  infected  urine,  dust  of  the  cow  stable,  or  any  contaminated 


344  BULLETIN   No.    149  [February, 

material  whatsoever.  The  many  possible  sources  of  contamina- 
tion of  the  milk  with  tubercle  bacilli  make  the  problem  a  very  dif- 
ficult one.  The  difficulty  of  reaching  a  conclusion  is  further  indi- 
cated by  the  fact  that  the  investigators  reporting  negative  results 
and  those  reporting  positive  results  are  pretty  equally  divided. 

It  will  be  seen  by  examining  the  literature,  Ta- 
bles 6  and  7,  that  most  of  the  results  are  positive 

TORS     REPORT-  ..  .^.    ,  •  i      •          <->  /"v    , 

ING  NEGATIVE  we  CQme  to  Ostertag  s  work  in  1899.    Oster- 

RESULTS  ta&  took  extra  precautions  to  prevent  contamina- 

tions, carefully  grooming  the  cow,  washing  the 
udder  with  antiseptics,  and  drying  with  sterile  wadding;  also  tak- 
ing care  to  have  the  milker  clean  and  disinfect  his  hands.  After 
rejecting  the  first  milk,  the  sample  to  be  examined  was  drawn  into 
a  sterile  flask.  He  found  on  testing  50  cows  which  had  reacted 
to  tuberculin  that  49  were  giving  milk  entirely  free  from  tubercle 
bacilli,  according  to  his  test.  In  the  case  of  one  cow  the  evidence 
was  not  so  conclusive.  Of  four  guinea  pigs,  inoculated  with  her 
milk,  one  became  tuberculous.  Ostertag  concluded,  however,  that 
this  infection  was  due  to  accidental  contamination. 

Since  Ostertag's  work,  McWeeney*3,  Stenstrom"3,  Ascher2,  Miil- 
br38,  and  Smit80  have  done  some  very  careful  work  with  entirely 
negative  results.  The  work  of  the  last  two  authors  was  very  ex- 
tensive and  will  be  briefly  discussed.  Miiller  examined  the  mixed 
milk  from  herds  in  order  to  detect  the  presence  of  cows  with  tu- 
berculous udders,  as  has  been  mentioned  under  market  milk.  Of 
1596  samples  tested,  Miiller  found  97,  or  6.2  percent  containing 
tubercle  bacilli.  When  he  found  a  tuberculous  sample  from  a 
herd,  an  inspector  was  sent  to  examine  the  udders  of  each  cow  in 
this  herd.  In  59  of  the  97  cases,  tuberculous  udders  were  found ; 
in  56  of  these  59  cases,  only  one  tuberculous  udder  was  found  in 
each  herd ;  in  the  other  three  cases,  two  tuberculous  udders  in  each 
herd  were  found.  Of  the  other  38  (author  by  mistakes  says  32) 
samples,  19  were  found  to  be  from  herds  containing  cows  suffering 
from  pulmonary  tuberculosis ;  twelve  from  herds  containing  one  or 
several  cases  of  uterine  tuberculosis.  In  another  positive  sample  the 
bacilli  were  derived  from  an  animal  affected  with  pulmonary  tuber- 
culosis and  several  cases  of  intestinal  tuberculosis  in  the  herd.  For 
the  remaining  five  (two  not  accounted  for)  positive  findings,  there 
was  no  explanation  found  and  other  examinations  of  the  milk  of 
these  five  herds  gave  always  negative  results.  But  what  are  we  to 
say  of  the  1499  herds  where  the  milk  showed  no  tubercle  bacilli? 
Miiller  assumed  that  30  to  40  percent  of  the  nearly  20,000  dairy 
cows  in  these  herds  were  tuberculous,  i.  e.,  6000  to  8000  cows.  This 
is  in  accordance  with  the  statistics  given  for  that  region.  Now  ac- 
cording to  the  views  of  some  authors,  the  6000  to  8000  tuberculous 


TUBERCULOSIS  OF  FARM  ANIMALS 


345 


TABLE  6 — BACILLUS  TUBERCULOSIS  IN  THE  MILK  OF  TUBERCULOUS  Cows  WITHOUT 
RECOGNIZABLE  DISEASE  OF  THE  UDDER 


6 

% 

Author 

0) 

ri 
A 

Place 

id 
2  o> 

!« 

o£ 

Cows 
positive 

Percent 
positive 

Remark 

i 

2 
3 

4 

5 
6 
7 
8 
9 

1U 
11 
12 
13 
14 

15 

16 
17 

18 

19 
20 

21 

12 
23 
24 
25 

26 
27 
28 
29 

30 
31 

32 

33 
34 

35 

36 

37 

38 
39 

Zurn66 

1872 
1873 
1875 

1880 
1880 
1883 
1883 
1884 
1884 

1884 
1889 
1889 
1889 
1889 
1890 
to 
1895 

1890 

1891 
1892 
1893 

1893 
1894 
1894 
1894 
1895 
1895 

1895 
1897 
1898 
1898 

1899 

1899 
1899 
1899 

1899 
1899 

1899 

1899 
1900 
1900 

Jena  

1 
1 

(?) 

1 
1 

91* 
5 
3 
14 

1 
20 
21 
1 
1 

36 

50 

13 
60 
1 

6 
3 
16 
Herd 
1 
(?) 

38 
5 
7 
11 

34 

14 
10 

7 

1 

49 

9 

41 
50 

7 

1 

1 

(?) 

1 
1 

28* 
0 

(?)t 
4 

1 
•   11 
2 
1 
0 

15 

0 

2 
6 
1 

2 
3 
1 
Some 
0 
(?) 

6 
Some 
0 
1 

0 

9 
6 

0 

1 
0 

0 

15 
1 
0 

100.0 
100.0 

(?) 

100.0 
100.0 
30.7* 
0.0 

(?)t 
28.5 

100.0 
55.5 
9.5 
100.0 
0,0 

41.7 

0.0 

15.4 
10.0 
100.0 

33.3 
100.0 
6.3 

(?) 
0.0 

(?) 

15.7 

(?) 
0.0 
9.1 

0.0 

64.3 
60.0 
0.0 

100.0 
0.0 

0.0 

39.0 
2.0 
0.0 

Fed  to  swine 
Fed  to  test  animals 
45.6  percent,  of  test 
animals  positive 
Fed  3  hogs,  1  positive 
Fed  5  hogs,  all  positive 

1  udder  tuberculous 
post  mortem 

Normal  udders 
Fed  to  pigs  and  rabbits 

Normal  udders 

Normal  udders 
Normal  udders 

Fed  to  calves 

Fed  to  swine 
Fed  to  guinea  pigs 
38  percent  of  test 
animals  positive 
Guinea  pig  test 
Udders  sound 

Udder  tuberculous, 
post  mortem 

1  udder  tuberculous, 
post  mortem 
Microscopic 
Sound  udders 

50  cows  examined; 
one  doubtful 

Sound  udders 
Sound  udders 

Klebs87   

L/eipsic  

Semmer59   

Eeipsic   

Bellinger8 

Germany   

Bollinger8    .  . 

Germany   

Johne26  

(Compilation)  .  .    .  ,-r 

May3  a   

Munich  

Imlach85   

Stein62   .  . 

Berlin  

Zschokke05   .  .  . 

Germany  

Hirschberger2*  .    .  . 
Bang5   

Munich  

Denmark   .  .    :  
France  

Peuch47.  .            ... 

Galtier21  

France  

Ernst18    

Boston,  Mass  

Schmidt- 
Muhlheim36 

Mac  Fadyean  and 
Woodhead29  

England  

Bang-4   . 

Denmark  .        

Philadelphia  

Smith  and 
Schroeder61  

Washington,  D.  C. 
Ithaca,  N.  Y  

L,aw88  

Schroeder58          
Hills  and  Rich23  .... 
Chester10  

Washington,  D.  C. 
Vermont          

Newark  t  

Obermuller4  1       

Berlin  

Gehrmann22      .    ... 

Ravenel51    

Pennsylvania..    .  . 
Liverpool  

Delepine1  2  

Delepine1  2  

England     

Bassett7   

Madison    \Vis  

Rabinowitsch 
and  Kempner49  .  .  . 
Adami  and  Martin1  . 
Ascher2    

Berlin  

Canada  

Konigsberg  

Rogers  and 
Gamier52  

Italy  

Ostertag4  2  

Berlin  

Miiller36    

Bolle,  Germany  .  .  . 
Chicago  

Gehrmann  and 
Evans28    

Marshall30  

Douerlas1  7   . 

Enerland.  . 

Compiled  from  the  experimental  work  of  various  investigators  up  to  1883. 
f.     Milk  was  fed  to  various  test  animals,  among  them  two  monkeys  later  found  to  be 
tuberculous;  a  result  of  doubtful  significance. 


316 


BULLETIN   No.   149 


[February, 


TABLE  6. — Continued 


6 
fc 

Author 

OJ 

-*-> 

a 

Q 

Place 

-rj 

*  a> 
k  * 

0    <» 

rl  v 

tj   •!-> 

0> 

> 
te  •£ 

%'* 

O   o 

o  cL 

Percent 
positive 

Remark 

40 

41 
42 
43 
44 
45 

46 

47 
48 
49 
50 
51 

52 
53 

54 

55 

Nonewitsch40  
Ostertag44    

1900 

1901 
1902 
1902 
1903 
1904 

1904 

1904 
1904 
1906 
1908 
1908 

1909 
1909 

1909 
1909 

Wilna,  Russia.  .... 

6 

18 
15 
50 
56 
3 

19 

57 
13 
20 
1 
10 

33 

2 

2 
4 

3 

0 
0 
0 
12 
0 

1 

7 
5 
4 
0 
3 

0 
0 

2 

2 

50.0 

0.0 
0.0 
0.0 
21.4 
0.0 

5.3 

12.2 
38  4 
20.0 
0.0 
30.0 

0.0 
0.0 

100.0 
50.0 

Six  women  post  mortem 
examination 

All  udders  normal 
Reacting  cows 

Injected  cultures  into 
buffaloes 
Twenty-five  examina- 
tions; six  failed 

Milk  taken  with 
great  care 

Natural  tuberculosis, 
33  tests 
Intravenous  injection 
of  bacilli 
Udders  sound 

Berlin   

Mc\Veeney33.  ....... 

Ireland  

Stenstrom*3  

Hamra  

Mohler84   
Prettner48  

Russell55   

Washington  
Germany  •  •  •  •  •    •  •  • 

Madison,  Wis  

Moussu35  

Paris   

Mart  el  and  Guerin31 
Martel  and  Guerin31 
Coquot  and  Cesari11 
De  Jong14   ....      .. 

Germany  

Germany  ,  .  • 

L/eiden  

Smit60   

Rotterdam  

Smit60  
Srnit60     

Rotterdam      

Rotterdam  

Royal  Commission53 

L/ondon  

Total   

748 

131 

17.9 

TABLE  7 — BACILLUS  TUBERCULOSIS  IN  THE  MILK  01?  TUBERCULOUS  Cows 
WITH  VISIBLY  DISEASED  UDDERS 


1 

Author 

0> 

ft 

Q 

Place 

& 

O    * 

n  v 

W    •*-* 

Cows 
positive 

Percent 
positive 

Remark 

1 

2 
3 
4 
5 
6 

7 
8 
9 
10 

11 
12 

13 

May3a  

1883 
1883 
1884 
1889 
1889 

1891 
1892 
1892 
1894 

1896 
1898 

1899 
1900 

jvtunich    

1 
1 

(?) 

1 

19 

3 
2 
1 

3 
6 

1 

(8) 

39 

1 
1 
(?) 

1 

14 

3 
2 

1 

3 
6 

1 

(?) 

100.0 
100.0 
100.0 
100.0 
100.0 

73.7 
100.0 
100.0 
100.0 

100.0 
100.0 

100.0 
(?) 

48  samples, 
34  positive 

Bollinger8  
Bane"3    . 

Germany  
Denmark  

Galtier21  
Peuch47 

Mac  Fadyean29 
and  Woodhead.  . 
Bang4  
Fiorentini19  
Russell54 
Nocard  and 
L/eclainche39.    .  . 
Delepine18.  
Rabinowitsch 
und  Kempner49  .  . 
Douglas1  ~  

L/ondon    
Denmark  

Italy             

Madison,  Wis.  .  . 
Paris  

Manchester  

Berlin  ... 

J^jjcrlajKj  

Total  

34 

87.2 

TUBERCULOSIS  OF  FARM  ANIMALS  3+7 

cows  were  all  capable  of  secreting  tubercle  bacilli  in  their  milk. 
But  since  the  milk  from  these  cows  was  entirely  negative  to  guinea 
pigs  subcutaneously  injected,  he  concluded  that  the  danger  which 
is  attached  to  the  milk  of  cows  with  closed  tuberculosis  absolutely 
need  not  be  considered,  and  the  chief  source  of  danger  is  the  cow 
with  tuberculosis  of  the  udder. 

The  investigations  of  Smit60  were  extensive  and  carefully  done. 
He  reviewed  both  the  literature  and  methods  of  work  at  some 
length.  His  samples  were  taken  with  great  care.  The  milk  was 
drawn  into  a  sterile  flask  thru  a  sterile  rubber  tube  connected  with 
a  canula  which  was  inserted  into  the  opening  in  the  teat.  Sixty 
cubic  centimeters  of  each  sample  were  centrifuged  and  5  cc.  of 
an  emulsion  of  the  cream  and  sediment  were  injected  into  the 
muscle  of  the  right  hind  leg  of  a  guinea  pig.  The  milk  of  33  tu- 
berculous cows  upon  which  the  diagnosis  was  to  be  confirmed  by 
post  mortem  examinations  was  tested,  as  above  described,  and  in 
none  of  the  samples  were  tubercle  bacilli  found.  The  milk  of  two 
cows,  one  with  open  and  the  other  with  closed  tuberculosis,  was 
tested  for  the  period  of  a  month  by  both  microscopic  examination 
and  animal  inoculation,  and  no  tubercle  bacilli  were  found  in  any 
sample.  A  four-year-old  cow,  in  full  flow  of  milk,  reacting  to 
tuberculin,  was  injected  intravenously  with  an  emulsion  of  50 
mg.  of  pure  culture  of  tubercle  bacilli  of  the  human  type  in  10  cc. 
of  normal  salt  solution.  Her  milk,  feces,  and  urine  were  tested 
for  tubercle  bacilli  on  each  pf  three  days  before  the  injection.  All 
these  tests  were  negative.  The  same  tests  made  after  the  injec- 
tion showed  the  presence  of  tubercle  bacilli  in  the  feces  samples 
on  the  first  and  third  day.  The  urine  sample  of  the  first  day  only 
contained  tubercle  bacilli.  Eighteen  samples  of  milk  were  taken 
during  the  month  with  which  23  guinea  pigs  were  inoculated.  The 
milk  samples  taken  on  the  second  day  after  the  injection  contained 
tubercle  bacilli,  all  others  were  negative.  In  a  similar  manner  a 
non-tuberculous  cow  was  injected  with  25  cc.  of  a  thick  emulsion 
of  a  tuberculous  lung  from  another  cow  and  her  milk  was  tested 
for  tubercle  bacilli.  The  control  tests  before  the  injection  were 
all  negative.  The  tests  of  the  urine  following  the  injection  of 
lung  emulsion  were  negative;  the  tests  of  the  feces  samples  were 
lost ;  the  tests  of  the  milk  on  the  first,  second,  and  third  days  af- 
ter the  injection  showed  the  presence  of  tubercle  bacilli  in  each 
sample.  The  tests  of  all  other  samples  during  the  month  were 
negative. 

INVESTIGA  ^  ^ie  auth°rs  reporting  positive  results  on  test- 

TORS  REPORT-  *n£  m^^  ^rom  tuberculous  cows  with  sound  ud- 
ING  POSITIVE  ders  may  b6  mentioned  Bang4'5,  Smith  and  Schroe- 
RESULTS  der61,  Ravenel50,  Rabinowitsch  and  Kempner49, 

Mohler",  Moussu"  De  Jong",  The  Royal  Commis- 


348  BULLETIN   No.   149  [February, 

sion  on  Tuberculosis,  England.63  These  investigators  have  made 
just  as  careful  tests  as  those  just  reported  who  found  negative  re- 
sults. Special  mention  will  be  made  here  of  only  the  last  two. 

De  Jong  had  special  opportunity  to  investigate  this  question, 
as  he  was  an  officer  in  the  official  slaughtering  house  of  Leiden, 
Holland.  Cows  that  were  condemned  because  of  the  tuberculin 
test  became  the  property  of  the  State.  So  De  Jong  was  able  to 
select  just  such  cows  as  he  chose  and  obtain  samples  immediately 
before  slaughtering.  This  he  did  and  selected  cows  with  closed 
tuberculosis  as  determined  by  testing  the  saliva,  trachial  or  bron- 
chial mucus  and  genital  secretions.  The  samples  were  very  care- 
fully taken.  Before  milking,  the  udder,  the  teats,  and  the  whole 
hind  parts  of  the  cow  were  carefully  washed  with  warm  soap  so- 
lution and  especial  attention  paid  to  the  opening  in  the  teats.  Af- 
ter the  washing  with  the  soapwater  the  hind  parts  of  the  cow  were 
very  carefully  washed  with  3  percent  boracic  acid,  as  were  also 
the  hands  of  the  milker.  The  first  part  of  the  milk  was  discarded 
and  only  the  last  part  drawn  into  a  sterile  flask.  Forty  cubic  cen- 
timeters of  this  milk  were  centrifuged  at  3200  revolutions  per 
minute.  The  cream  and  sediment  were  mixed  with  a  part  of  the 
skim-milk  and  10  cc.  of  this  were  injected  into  the  peritoneal  cav- 
ity of  one  guinea  pig  and  5  cc.  under  the  skin  of  the  hind  leg  of 
another.  He  tested  ten  cows  and  found  tubercle  bacilli  in  the 
milk  of  three. 

The  Royal  Commission  on  Tuberculosis  has  made  very  thoro 
tests  upon  five  cows,  three  of  which,  B,  C,  and  F,  showed  obvious 
signs  of  tuberculosis,  and  two  of  which,  D  and  E,  showed  no  vis- 
ible signs.  None  of  the  five  cows  showed  any  sign  of  udder  tu- 
berculosis during  life.  All  the  cows  were  subsequently  slaugh- 
tered and  the  udders  were  carefully  examined  for  tubercles  and 
tubercle  bacilli.  There  were  none  found  except  in  one  case,  cow 
F,  in  which  one  quarter  showed  four  small  nodules  which  could  not 
possibly  have  been  detected  during  life.  For  the  autopsy  notes, 
see  Table  8.  Strictest  precautions  were  taken  in  the  collection  of 
the  samples.  A  pressure  tube  was  connected  to  a  metal  catheter 
which  was  inserted  into  the  milk  sinus  of  the  teat.  The  teat  and 
the  udder  were  thoroly  cleaned.  They  were  washed  with  a  solu- 
tion of  mercuric  chloride  and  the  opening  of  the  teat  carefully 
cleansed  so  that  no  tubercle  bacilli  could  be  pushed  back  into  the 
sinus.  The  milk  from  each  quarter  was  collected  separately  and 
was  inoculated  into  guinea  pigs  and  rabbits.  Two  guinea  pigs 
were  inoculated  intraperitoneally  from  each  quarter.  Each  animal 
received  a  dose  of  ten  cubic  centimeters  of  uncentrifuged  milk  plus 
the  deposit  of  20  cc.  of  centrifuged  milk,  or  sometimes  6  cc.  plus 
the  deposit  of  24  cc.  of  centrifuged  milk.  Three  of  the  five  cows 


TUBERCULOSIS  OF  FARM  ANIMALS 


349 


TABLE  8 — TUBERCLE  BACILLI  IN  FECES  AND  IN  MILK  OP  Six  NATURALLY 

TUBERCULOUS  Cows 


Lesions  in  the 
cow  at  autopsy 

Guinea  pigs 
inoculated 
with  feces 

G.  pigs 
fed  with 
feces 

Swine 
fed  with 
feces 

Guinea  pigs 
inoculated 
with  milk 

& 

at 

(A 

tc 

$ 

3 

3 

i 

3 

^•j 

^o 

J3 

O 

0 

^> 

O 

0) 

t) 

^H 

13 

•c 

o 

^^ 

Cow 

.2 

u, 

0} 

V 

i 

o> 

>% 

3 
O 

|4 

3 
O 
Ui 

<u 

3 
O 
w 

c-o 

.3  n 

-4_> 

3 

0) 

^ 
A 

*3 
O 
u 

he 

• 

V 

3 

*—  i 

^j 

0) 

*""1 

D 

'—  1 

u 

~"     ~ 

-M 

V 

C 

<u  • 

«d 

<u 

J2 

*o 

3 

^1 

-S 

J3 

-*2 

^3 

*D 

"3 

,0 

-M 

•o 

4-» 

o 

u 

v 

3 

O 

3 

o 

3 

o'S 

V 

0) 

3 

i4 

C 

i—  i 

D 

D 

fc 

3 

a 

fc 

b 

fcj 

B 

H 

3 

a 

fi 

Obviously  Tuberculous  Cows 


B 

-f-f 

++ 

0 

++ 

25 

8 

1 

16 

22 

0 

4s 

4 

S63 

0 

54* 

1 

C 

+ 

+ 

0 

++ 

30 

13 

0 

17 

14 

1 

1 

1 

28 

0 

19 

9 

F 

+ 

+ 

± 

++ 

7 

4 

0 

3 

32 

11 

0 

21 

Cows  not  Obviously  Diseased 


A 

+ 

-f 

0 

41  ! 

1 

40 

0 

4 

1 

D 
F 

+ 

0 

0 

0 
0 

14 
18 

0 
3 

8 
15 

6 
0 

•• 

2 
2 

0 
0 

60 

402 

0 
0 

60 

40 

0 
0 

-f-    Tubercles  present. 
-\ — f-    Extensive  tuberculosis. 

1.  Some  tested  by  feeding. 

2.  Four  of  these  forty  were  rabbits. 

3.  One  guinea  pig  became  tuberculous,  but  was  rejected  because  the 
omentum  was  free  from  tubercles. 

4.  Rabbits  were  used  in  part;  three  of  these  became  tuberculous. 

5.  Milk  from  Cow  B  was  also  fefl  to  three  swine;  none  of  them  became 
tuberculous. 

(see  Table  8)  tested  were  giving  milk  which  contained  Bacillus 
tuberculosis.  In  one  of  these,  cow  F,  some  small  tubercles  in  one 
quarter  of  the  udder  were  discovered  at  autopsy.  The  milk  of 
cows  B  and  C  as  shown  by  guinea  pig  inoculations  contained  tu- 
bercle bacilli.  The  milk  was  withdrawn  from  the  udder  by  cathe- 
terisation,  and  post  mortem  examination  of  the  udders  revealed  no 
microscopical  evidence  of  tuberculosis.  Small  pieces  from  the  ud- 
der were  examined  histologically  and  found  to  be  normal.  The 
milk  of  the  other  two  cows,  D  and  E,  did  not  give  rise  to  tubercu- 
losis in  any  instance.  Altogether,  one  hundred  test  animals  were 
inoculated  with  the  milk  of  these  two  cows. 


SAMPLES 
EXAMINED 


EXPERIMENTAL 

Milk  has  been  examined  for  Bacillus  tuberculosis 
from  three  different  sources: 

i.  Milk  from  thirty-five  tuberculous  cows  of 
the  University  of  Illinois  Experiment  Station,  taken  collectively. 

2.  Milk  from  three  individual  cows  of  the  tuberculous  herd  se- 
lected as  the  most  advanced  cases  in  the  herd. 

3.  Milk  from  the  individual  teats  of  six  tuberculous  cows  that 
were  soon  to  be  slaughtered  and  examined  post  mortem. 


350 


BULLETIN  No.   149 


{February, 


MILK  FROM  Eleven  samples  of  mixed  milk  from  thirty-five  tu- 
THE  TUBER-  berculous  cows  of  the  herd  of  the  University  of 
CULOUS  Illinois  Agricultural  Experiment  Station  were 

tested.  The  samples  were  taken  at  the  morning 
milking  time  from  the  large  milk  cans  after  thoroly  mixing  the 
milk.  The  milking  of  the  cows  in  the  tuberculous  herd  is  done 
with  considerably  more  care  than  is  usual  on  the  farm.  The 
method  of  handling  the  sample  at  the  laboratory  has  been  de- 
scribed under  Market  Milk,  general  method.  The  results  are  given 
in  Table  9.  Ten  of  the  eleven  samples  completed  the  test.  Sam- 
ple No.  5  was  lost,  all  the  guinea  pigs  dying  early.  Three  of  the 

TABLE  9 — EXAMINATION  OF  MILK  FROM  THE  UNIVERSITY  TUBERCULOUS  HERD 


Sample 
number 

Guinea  pig 
number 

Date  of 
inoculation 

Mode  of 
death 

Days  after 
inoculation 

Autopsy 

Tubercu- 
losis 

Remark 

1 

9 

7-9-  '08 

Killed 

63 

Normal 

0 

10 

" 

Died 

2 

Acute  infection 

11 

" 

Killed 

63 

Normal 

0 

2 

21 

7-24-  '08 

Died 

7 

Acute  infection 

22 

« 

Died 

12 

Acute  infection 

23 

*' 

Killed 

56 

Normal 

0 

3 

30 

8-6-  'C8 

Killed 

57 

Normal 

0 

31 

" 

Killed 

57 

Normal 

0 

32 

" 

Killed 

57 

Normal 

0 

4 

56 

8-ll-'08 

Killed 

57 

Normal 

0 

57 

1  1 

Killed 

57 

Normal 

0 

58 

tt 

Killed 

57 

Normal 

0 

5 

59 

8-13-  '08 

Died 

1 

Acute  infection 

60 

" 

Died 

1 

Acute  infection 

61 

it 

Died 

1 

Acute  infection 

6 

75 

8-18-  '08 

Killed 

60 

Normal 

0 

76 

" 

Killed 

60 

Normal 

0 

77 

" 

Killed 

60 

Normal 

0 

7 

87 

8-20-  '08 

Died 

49 

No  tubercles 

0 

88 

it 

Killed 

61 

Normal 

0 

89 

" 

Died 

51 

No  tubercles, 

large  tumor  on 

intestines 

0 

8 

93 

8-25-  '08 

Killed 

63 

Normal 

0 

94 

" 

Killed 

63 

Normal 

0 

95 

" 

Killed 

63 

Normal 

0 

9 

105 

8-27-  '08 

Killed 

62 

Normal 

0 

106 

" 

Killed 

62 

Normal 

0 

107 

" 

Died 

46 

No  tubercles 

0 

10 

113 

9-l-'08 

Died 

41 

No  tubercles 

114 

" 

Died 

61 

No  tubercles 

115 

" 

Died 

63 

No  tubercles 

11 

125 

9-3-  '08 

Died 

58 

No  tubercles 

126 

" 

Died 

59 

No  tubercles 

127 

" 

Died 

60 

No  tubercles 

Summary:     Ten  samples  completing  the  test;  none  with  tubercle  bacilli. 


TUBERCULOSIS  OF  FARM  ANIMALS 


351 


other  thirty  guinea  pigs  used  in  testing  these  ten  samples  died  too 
early  to  determine  the  presence  or  absence  of  tubercle  bacilli.  None 
of  the  remaining  27  guinea  pigs  became  tuberculous. 


MILK  FROM  THE  samples  of  milk  from  three  individual  cows 

THREE  MOSTAD-0^  tne  University  tuberculous  herd  were  tested  for 
VANCED  CASES  tubercle  bacilli.  These  cows  were  selected  as  be- 
ing the  most  advanced  cases  in  the  herd.  After 
the  usual  grooming  of  the  cow  and  washing  of  the  udder,  about 
one-third  of  the  milk  was  drawn  from  each  teat;  the  udder  was 
washed  again  with  five  percent  carbolic  acid  and  then  with  boiled 
water  and  dried  with  sterile  cotton.  The  sample  was  milked  di- 
rectly into  the  sterile  flask,  an  equal  part  from  each  quarter  of  the 
udder.  At  autopsy  the  udders  of  all  these  cows  were  found  to 
be  free  from  lesions  of  tuberculosis.  Two  of  the  animals,  Nos. 
28  and  53,  were  slaughtered  at  a  local  abattoir  and  personally  ex- 
amined post  mortem,  the  other  one,  No.  13,  was  slaughtered  in 
Chicago  under  federal  inspection.  (See  Table  19.) 

The  results  of  the  tests  are  given  in  Table  10.     None  of  the 
eighteen  guinea  pigs,  inoculated  with  the  milk,  became  tuberculous. 

Milk  from  the  segregated  quarters  of  six  cows 
from  the  tuberculous  herd  was  examined  with 
more  than  usual  care  for  tubercle  bacilli.  These 
were  six  cows  which  were  to  be  slaughtered,  thus 
giving  us  an  opportunity  to  make  a  careful  au- 
topsy in  a  very  short  time  after  taking  the  sam- 

TABLE  10.—  EXAMINATION  OF  MILK  FROM  THREE;  INDIVIDUAL  Cows  OF  THE 
UNIVERSITY  TUBERCULOUS  HERD 


MILK    FROM 
SEGREGATED 
QUARTERS 
OF  THE 
UDDER 


be 

a 

• 

« 

*H 

(X 

•H.2 

O  •+•> 

A 

<u  o 

1  *i 

cL 

Rj    6 

ri 
cu  r± 

-4-*     3 

•O  nJ 

o  i* 

MH  -*-• 
nj  ci 

Autopsy 

z~ 

Remark 

3 

j3  ^ 

nj  0 

S 

05   3 

V 

f-\ 

cc 

3 

Q  2 

o 

ri^O 

4J 

a 

x 

•-1 

Q.S 

& 

Cow 

66 

8-15-'08 

Killed 

56 

Normal 

0 

13 

67 

8-15-'08 

Killed 

56 

Normal 

0 

(1) 

68 

8-15-'08 

Killed 

56 

Normal 

0 

Cow 

96 

8-26-  '08 

Killed 

62 

Normal 

0 

13 

97 

8-26-  '08 

Killed 

62 

Normal 

0 

(2) 

98 

8-26-  '08 

Killed 

62 

Normal 

0 

Cow 

69 

8-15-  '08 

Killed 

55 

Normal 

0 

28 

70 

8-l5-'08 

Killed 

55 

Normal 

0 

(1) 

71 

8-15-  '08 

Killed 

55 

Normal 

0 

Cow 

99 

8-26-  '08 

Killed 

63 

Normal 

0 

28 

100 

8-26-  '08 

Died 

13 

Acute  infection 

0 

(2) 

101 

8-26-  '08 

Killed 

63 

Normal 

0 

Cow 

72 

8-15-  '08 

Killed 

55 

Normal 

0 

53 

73 

8-15-  '08 

Killed 

55 

Normal 

0 

(1) 

74 

8-15-'08 

Killed 

55 

Normal 

0 

Cow 

102 

8-26-  '08 

Killed 

63 

Normal 

0 

53 

103 

8-26-  '08 

Killed 

63 

Normal 

0 

(2) 

104 

8-26-  '08 

Killed 

63 

Normal 

0 

352 


BULLETIN  No.   149 


[February, 


pies  of  milk.  In  this  way  it  was  hoped  to  correlate  our  results 
more  accurately  with  the  autopsy  findings,  and  if  possible  to  get 
some  data  concerning  the  secretion  of  tubercle  bacilli  in  the  milk 
from  cows  with  sound  udders.  The  samples  from  the  segregated 
quarters  were  taken  with  aseptic  technic.  The  apparatus  shown 
in  Fig.  3  was  used.  It  consists  of  a  milking  tube  (canula)  at- 
tached to  a  flask  with  rubber  tubing.  The  milking  tube  is  pro- 
tected from  contamination  by  the  test  tube.  The  stopper  of  the 
flask  is  covered  with  cotton :  this  is  necessary  for  tho  the  flask  is 
closed  tightly  with  a  rubber  stopper  water  may  be  drawn  thru  by 


FIG.  3.  FLASK  FOR  COLLECTING  MILK  SAMPLES. 


TUBERCULOSIS  OF  FARM  ANIMALS  353 

capillarity  and  thus  be  a  source  of  contamination.  The  whole  in- 
strument was  sterilized  in  the  autoclave  at  fifteen  pounds  pressure 
for  fifteen  minutes. 

Before  taking  the  sample  the  cows  were  groomed  and  the  ud- 
ders and  hind  parts  of  the  cow  thoroly  washed  with  soap  and 
water.  One-third  of  the  milk  was  drawn  from  each  quarter,  and 
then  the  udder  was  again  washed  with  five  percent  carbolic  acid 
and  then  with  boiled  water  and  dried  with  sterile  cotton.  The 
openings  of  the  teats  were  more  thoroly  cleansed  by  picking  out 
with  a  sterilized  tooth  pick  any  dirt  found  there  in  order  that  no 
feces  or  other  dirt  should  be  pushed  up  into  the  sinus  of  the  teat 
by  the  milk  tube.  Again  the  teats  were  washed  with  five  per- 
cent carbolic  acid  and  boiled  water.  The  hands  of  the  operator 
were  also  washed  in  a  similar  way.  The  test  tube  protecting  the 
milk  canula  was  next  removed  and  the  canula  immediately  inserted 
into  the  opening  of  the  teat.  The  milk  flowed  of  its  own  accord 
as  a  rule;  at  times,  a  little  pressure  of  the  hand  upon  the  udder 
was  necessary. 

A  number  of  these  samples  were  tested  by  counts  of  colonies 
upon  gelatin  plates  inoculated  with  0.5  cc.  and  0.25  cc.  of  milk. 
Tho  the  counts  upon  gelatin  plates  after  48  hours  at  a  temperature 
of  20°  C.  may  not  reveal  all  of  the  bacteria  which  have  been  found 
to  be  present  in  milk,  such  as  milk  streptococci,  yet  the  gelatin 
plate  gave  us  the  information  desired  for  our  purpose,  namely,  to 
determine  if  the  samples  were  being  contaminated  by  feces  or  other 
dirt  from  the  outside. 

A  number  of  these  samples  were  tested,  of  which  the  results 
from  the  samples  of  two  cows  taken  at  different  times  are  given. 
Samples  of  milk  from  cow  54,  tested  on  September  17,  1909,  gave 
the  following  numbers  of  bacteria  per  cubic  centimeter  on  the  gel- 
atin plates: 

Number  of  bacteria. 

1.  From  right    forequarter o  per  cc- 

2.  From  right    hindquarter    '. 5  per  cc. 

3.  From  left    forequarter    o  per  cc. 

4.  From  left  hindquarter 4  per  cc. 

Samples  from  cow  58,  September  14,  1909: 

Number  of  bacteria. 

1.  From  right    forequarter    o  per  cc. 

2.  From  right   hindquarter    o  per  cc. 

3.  From  left   forequarter    o  per  cc. 

4.  From  left    hindquarter    320  per  cc. 

It  is  probable  that  some  little  dirt  particles  in  some  way  en- 
tered the  last  sample.  The  counts  of  most  of  the  samples  were 
similar  to  those  from  cow  54.  We  were  assured  that  on  the 
whole  we  were  not  getting  any  considerable  contamination  from 
outside  the  udder. 


354 


BULLETIN   No.   149 


[February, 


The  results  are  given  in  Table  n.  The  milk  from  each  cow 
was  tested  twice.  For  the  first  testing,  two  guinea  pigs  were  used 
for  each  of  the  four  samples  taken  or  eight  guinea  pigs  for  each 
cow.  For  the  second  testing,  on  account  of  a  lack  of  guinea  pigs 
at  the  time,  cows  No.  54  and  No.  52  were  tested  with  one  guinea 
pig  each  per  sample.  Cows  No.  37,  No.  57,  No.  58,  and  No.  10 
were  tested  by  drawing  the  milk  aseptically  from  the  four  quarters 
into  one  flask,  and  this  composite  sample  was  tested  by  inoculation 
into  two  guinea  pigs.  Three  to  four  cubic  centimeters  of  the 
cream  and  sediment  of  80  cc.  of  the  centrifuged  milk  samples 
were  inoculated  into  each  of  the  two  guinea  pigs.  In  none  of  the 
samples  were  tubercle  bacilli  detected.  Microscopical  tests  were 
not  made  upon  any  of  the  samples.  (For  autopsy  records  of  these 
cows  see  Table  19.) 


11  __  EXAMINATION  OP  MILK  FROM  EACH  TEAT  OF  Six  TUBERCULOUS 
Cows 


d 
% 

* 

0 

O 

Sample 
No. 

d    o 
I* 

'3   bo 
O   a 

Date  of 
inoculation 

1 

Mode 
of 
death 

Days  since 
inoculation 

Autopsy 

Tuberculosis 

Remark 

57 

1  R.  F. 

549 

9-6-  '09 

Killed 

44 

Normal 

0 

550 

9-6-  '09 

Killed 

44 

Normal 

0 

2  R.  H. 

551 

9-6-  '09 

Killed 

44 

Normal 

0 

552 

9-6-  '09 

Killed 

44 

Normal 

0 

3  L,.  F. 

553 

9-6-  '09 

Killed 

44 

Normal 

0 

554 

9-6-  '09 

Killed 

44 

Normal 

0 

4  L,.  H. 

555 

9-6-  '09 

Killed 

44 

Normal 

0 

556 

9-6-  '09 

Killed 

44 

Normal 

0 

37 

5  R.   F. 

557 

9-8-  '09 

Killed 

42 

Normal 

0 

558 

9-8-  '09 

Killed 

42 

Normal 

0 

6  R.  H. 

559 

9-8-  '09 

Killed 

42 

Normal 

0 

560 

9-8-  '09 

Killed 

42 

Normal 

0 

I,.    F- 

561 

9-8-  '09 

Killed 

41 

Normal 

0 

562 

9-8-  '09 

Killed 

41 

Normal 

0 

8  L,.  H. 

563 

9-8-  '09 

Killed 

41 

Normal 

0 

"• 

S64 

9-8-  '09 

Killed 

41 

Normal 

0 

58 

9  R.  F. 

565 

9-9-  '09 

Killed 

40 

Normal 

0 

566 

9-9-  '09 

Killed 

40 

Normal 

0 

10  R.  H. 

567 

9-9-  '09 

Killed 

40 

Normal 

0 

568 

9-9-  '09 

Killed 

40 

Normal 

0 

11  L,.   F. 

569 

9-9-  '09 

Killed 

40 

Normal 

0 

570 

9-9-  '09 

Killed 

40 

Normal 

0 

12  Iv.  H. 

571 

9-9-  '09 

Killed 

40 

Normal 

0 

572 

9-9-  '09 

Killed 

40 

Normal 

0 

10 

13  R.  F. 

575 

9-10-  '09 

Killed 

61 

Normal 

0 

576 

9-10-  '09 

Killed 

61 

Normal 

0 

14  R.  H. 

577 

9-10-  '09 

Killed 

61 

Normal 

0 

578 

9-10-  '09 

Killed 

61 

Normal 

0 

15  L,.  F. 

579 

9-10-  '09 

Killed 

61 

Normal 

0 

580 

9-10-  '09 

Killed 

61 

Normal 

0 

16  L,.  H. 

581 

9-  10-  '09 

Killed 

61 

Normal 

0 

582 

9-10-'09 

Killed 

61 

Normal 

0 

TUBERCULOSIS  OF  FARM  ANIMALS 


355 


11. — Continued 


6 
% 

* 

o 
O 

Sample 

No. 

Guinea 

pig  No. 

Date  of 
inoculation 

Mode 
of 
death 

Days  since 
inoculation 

Autopsy 

Tuberculosis 

Remark 

52 

17  R.  F. 

538 

9-14-  '09 

Killed 

59 

Normal 

U 

589 

9-14-'09 

Killed 

59 

Normal 

0 

18  R.  H. 

590 

9-  14-  '09 

Killed 

59 

Normal 

0 

591 

9-14-  '09 

Killed 

59 

Normal 

0 

19  L,.   F. 

592 

9-14-  '09 

Killed 

59 

Normal 

0 

593 

9-14-  '09 

Killed 

59 

No  Tubercles1 

0 

20  L,.  H. 

594 

9-14-  '09 

Killed 

59 

Normal 

0 

595 

9-14-  '09 

Died 

5  mjn 

Note2 

0 

54 

21  R.   F. 

600 

9-15-  '09 

Killed 

58 

Normal 

0 

601 

9-15-  '09 

Killed 

58 

Normal 

0 

22  R.  H. 

602 

*  9-15-  '09 

Killed 

58 

Normal 

0 

603 

9-15-  '09 

Killed 

58 

Normal 

0 

2     L.  F. 

604 

9-15-  '09 

Killed 

59 

Normal 

0 

605 

9-15-  '09 

Killed 

59 

Normal 

0 

24  L,.  H. 

606 

9-1  5-  '09 

Killed 

59 

Normal 

0 

607 

9-15-  '09 

Killed 

59 

Normal 

0 

25  R.   F. 

614 

9-17-'09 

Killed 

61 

Normal 

0 

26  L,.  H. 

615 

9-17-  '09 

Killed 

61 

Normal 

0 

27  L,.  F. 

616 

9-17-'09 

Killed 

61 

No  Tubercles3 

0 

28  Iv.  H. 

617 

9-17-  '09 

Killed 

61 

Normal 

0 

52 

29  R.   F. 

626 

9-18-'09 

Killed 

60 

Normal 

0 

30  R.  H. 

627 

9-18-  '09 

Killed 

60 

Normal 

0 

31  Iv.   F. 

628 

9-18-  '09 

Killed 

60 

Normal 

0 

32  L,.  H. 

629 

9-18-'09 

Killed 

60 

Normal 

0 

37 

33  (all) 

634 

9-22-  '09 

Killed 

56 

Normal 

0 

635 

9-22-  '09 

Killed 

56 

Normal 

0 

57 

34  (all) 

636 

9-22-  '09 

Killed 

56 

Normal 

0 

637 

9-22-  '09 

Killed 

56 

No  Tubercles4 

0 

58 

35  (all) 

638 

9-22-  '09 

Killed 

56 

Normal 

0 

639 

9-22-  '09 

Killed 

56 

Normal 

0 

10 

36  (all) 

632 

9-22-  '09 

Killed 

56 

Normal 

0 

633 

9-22-  '09 

Killed 

56 

Normal 

0 

1.  Guinea   pig  593  had  some  small  white  lesions   in  the    liver  which 
were  not  tuberculous. 

2.  Guinea  pig  595  died  five  minutes  after  injection. 

3.  Guinea  pig  616  had  an  ulcer  at  the  point  of  inoculation;  a  microscopic 
examination  showed  micrococci  and  streptococci;  no  tubercle  bacilli. 

4.  Guinea  pig  637  showed  a  small  abscess  in  the  lung;  tubercle  bacilli 
were  not  found. 


SUMMARY 

AND 

DISCUSSION 


Whether  tubercle  bacilli  pass  thru  the  sound  ud- 
der of  a  tuberculous  cow  has  been  a  problem  un- 
der consideration  now  for  considerably  more  than 
a  quarter  of  a  century.  That  bacteria  pass  thru 
the  healthy  epithelium  of  animals  without  forming  lesions  has  been 
shown  by  a  number  of  investigators,  Dobroklonski16  in  1890 
found  that  tubercle  bacilli,  after  only  a  short  contact,  will  pene- 
trate the  intestinal  wall  in  the  absence  of  any  demonstrable  lesions. 


356  BULLETIN   No.    149  [February, 

In  1895  Nocard39  observed  that  blood  drawn  from  horses  under 
the  strictest  precautions  would  often  show  contamination  if  taken 
at  certain  periods  of  digestion,  while  at  other  times  no  such  con- 
tamination would  occur.  In  the  same  year  two  of  Nocard's  pupils, 
Desoubry  and  Porcher'3,  continued  these  researches  and  found  that, 
in  dogs,  during1  the  digestion  of  fat,  large  numbers  of  bacteria 
were  carried  thru  the  intestinal  wall  and  could  be  detected  in  the 
chyle  by  means  of  plate  cultures.  If  the  dogs  were  fed  material 
free  from  fat  very  few  or  even  no  bacteria  were  found  in  the 
chyle.  In  1902  Nicolas  and  Decos37  showed  that  tubercle  bacilli 
will  pass  thru  the  healthy  intestines  of  dogs  during  digestion.  In 
the  same  year  Ravenel51  carried  out  a  more  extended  experiment. 
Ten  healthy  dogs  were  selected,  purged  with  castor  oil  and  fasted 
for  24  hours.  They  were  then  given  thru  a  stomach  tube  a  single 
dose  of  an  emulsion,  made  of  equal  parts  of  melted  butter  and 
warm  water,  containing  a  large  number  of  tubercle  bacilli.  Three 
and  one-half  to  four  hours  later  the  dogs  were  killed  and  as  much 
chyle  as  possible  collected,  together  with  the  mesenteric  lymph 
glands.  With  this  material  guinea  pigs  were  inoculated  intraperi- 
toneally.  Microscopic  examinations  were  also  made.  The  en- 
tire intestine  was  then  carefully  examined,  microscopic  sections 
made;  in  no  instance  were  lesions  detected.  The  guinea  pigs  in- 
oculated with  the  material  from  eight  of  the  ten  dogs  became  tu- 
berculous. The  author  concluded  that  the  tubercle  bacilli  pass  thru 
the  intestinal  wall  without  forming  lesions. 

It  is  well  known  that  in  such  diseases  as  anthrax  and  foot  and 
mouth  disease  of  cattle  the  infectious  agent  passes  into  the  milk. 
Schreiber  and  Neuman",  after  injecting  repeated  doses  of  a  cul- 
ture of  Bacillus  rhusiopathiae  or  swine  erysipelas  intravenously, 
found  that  these  organisms  did  not  pass  into  the  milk  thru  the 
healthy  udder  of  the  cow. 

In  chronic  localized  tuberculosis  of  milk  cows  the  tubercle 
bacilli  are  not  usually  found  in  milk  that  is  drawn  with  extreme 
care  so  as  not  to  be  contaminated  from  the  outside.  Note  the 
works  of  Ostertag42,  Stenstrom83,  Bang  and  Nocard6,  and  Smit60. 

The  work  of  Ostertag  (page  344)  has  been  discussed.  He 
has  followed  up  this  work  with  some  additional  evidence  and  nu- 
merous discussions  and  papers.  In  April,  1908,  Ostertag"  re- 
viewed critically  the  literature  of  those  investigators  who  have 
found  positive  results.  In  general,  he  states  that  these  investigators 
had  not  been  careful  enough  in  taking  their  samples  to  avoid  con- 
tamination of  the  milk  from  the  outside.  He  says  some  of  the 
investigators  had  not  taken  their  own  samples  (Mohler,  Rabino- 
witsch  and  Kempner)  and  that  others  had  taken  the  samples  in 


TUBERCULOSIS  OF  FARM  ANIMALS  357 

open  vessels  in  the  presence  of  cows  with  open  tuberculosis  and  in 
stables  where  such  cows  were  kept.  Therefore  Ostertag  still  holds 
that  cows  evidently  reacting  to  tuberculin  but  with  sound  udders 
produce  milk  free  from  tubercle  bacilli ;  but  that  in  cows  with 
badly  generalized  tuberculosis  the  liability  to  external  contamina- 
tion is  very  great. 

In  examining  the  literature  we  have  found  that,  as  a  rule, 
where  mention  is  made  of  autopsy  records,  cows  giving  milk  free 
from  tubercle  bacilli  were  suffering  from  localized  rather  than 
generalized  tuberculosis.  On  the  other  hand,  cows  having  chronic 
generalized  tuberculosis,  but  with  sound  udders,  may  give  milk 
containing  tubercle  bacilli.  Such  positive  findings  have  been  re- 
ported by  Rabinowitsch  and  Rempner49  1899,  Mohler34  1903, 
Moussu33  1904,  Mattel  and  Guerin31  1904,  and  1906,  Bang  and 
Nocard6  1908,  de  Jong14  1908,  and  the  Royal  Tuberculosis  Com- 
mission53 1909.  The  work  of  these  investigators  has  been  done 
with  extreme  care  and  with  the  knowledge  that  their  reports 
would  be  criticised  and  scrutinized  very  carefully  by  other  workers. 
An  examination  of  the  autopsy  records  shows  that  in  most  cases 
the  cows  furnishing  the  milk  for  these  positive  findings  had  ex- 
tensive generalized  tuberculosis.  This  fact  may  be  especially  noted 
in  the  work  of  Mohler,  Bang  and  Nocard,  and  that  of  the  Royal 
Tuberculosis  Commission.  The  autopsy  records  and  direct  state- 
ments of  these  authors  show  that  every  cow  furnishing  the  milk 
containing  tubercle  bacilli  was  severely  affected  with  generalized 
tuberculosis. 

In  those  experiments  in  which  pure  cultures  of  tubercle  ba- 
cilli have  been  injected  into  the  blood  stream  and  the  milk  subse- 
quently examined,  conflicting  results  have  been  obtained  by  dif- 
ferent authors.  Ostertag,40  Prettner,48  Coquot  and  Cesari11  have 
found  negative  results;  while  on  the  other  hand  Smit60  has  found 
tubercle  bacilli  present  in  samples  of  milk  from  each  of  the  two 
cows  that  he  injected  with  tubercle  bacilli. 

The  investigations  of  Calmette  and  Guerin9  show  that  the 
livers  of  rabbits,  which  have  been  injected  intravenously  with 
pure  culture  of  tubercle  bacilli,  excrete  tubercle  bacilli  in  the 
bile.  Since  it  is  quite  evident  that  the  normal  liver  can  excrete 
tubercle  bacilli  in  the  bile,  we  may  expect  that  in  cows  with  highly 
generalized  tuberculosis,  tubercle  bacilli  may  be  excreted  in  the 
milk  from  a  sound  udder.  The  evidence  points  strongly  in  this 
direction.  It  is  probably  in  only  the  very  bad  cases,  when  the 
tubercle  bacilli  are  free  in  the  circulating  blood,  that  this  occurs. 

In  another  section  of  this  bulletin,  there  has  been  discussed 
at  some  length  the  possible  presence  of  tubercle  bacilli  in  the  cir- 
culating blood.  The  importance  of  this  is  seen  here;  for  if  the 


358  BULLETIN   No.   149  [February, 

circulating  blood  contains  tubercle  bacilli  it  will  not  only  be  dan- 
gerous to  consume  meat  from  such  animals,  but  the  milk  as  well. 

CONCLUSIONS 

1.  Those  investigators  finding  positive  results  and  those  find- 
ing negative  results  in  testing  milk  of  tuberculous  cows  with  sound 
udders  are  about  equal  in  number  as  shown  by  the  literature  cited 
in  Tables  6  and  7. 

2.  Tho  the  question  is  yet  unsettled  whether  tuberculous  cows 
with  sound  udders  secrete  tubercle  bacilli  in  their  milk,  the  facts 
so  far  accumulated  point  to  these  conclusions: 

(a).  Tubercle  bacilli  are  rarely  found  in  the  milk  of  tuber- 
culous cows  with  sound  udders,  especially  if  the  infection  is  lo- 
calized. 

(b).  When  a  cow  has  extensive  generalized  tuberculosis  or 
when  the  tubercle  bacilli  are  free  in  the  blood  (as,  for  example, 
after  injecting  a  pure  culture  of  tubercle  bacilli  into  a  vein),  at 
such  times  tubercle  bacilli  may  be  secreted  along  with  the  milk: 

3.  We  have  tested  for  tubercle  bacilli  a  total  of  forty-seven 
samples  of  milk  from  ten  tuberculous  cows.     All  the  cows  at  au- 
topsy showed  normal  udders  except  No.   57.     This  one  showed 
extensive  induration  in  the  right  forequarter  of  the  udder,  but 
this  change  was  not  tuberculous  in  nature.     In  none  of  the  forty- 
seven   samples  were  any  tubercle  bacilli   found,   and  at   autopsy 
none  of  the  ten  cows  was  found  to  be  very  extensively  tubercu- 
lous. 

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/£>//]  TUBERCULOSIS  OF  FARM  ANIMALS  361 

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45.  Ostertag,  R.,  Cited  by  Smit,  Centralb.  f.  Bakt.,  Abt:  I,  Orig. 
49:  59.     1909. 

46.  Pearson,  Cited  by  Mohler,  U.S.  Dept.  Agr.  Bur.  Animal  In- 
dustry Bull.  44:  1-93.     1903. 

47.  Peiich,  F.,  Cited  by  Mohler,  U.S.  Dept.  Agr.  Bur.  Animal  In- 
dustry Bull.  44:  1-93.     1903. 

48.  Prettner,  Beitrag  zur  Frage  der  Infectiositat  der  Milch  von 
mit  Tuberculose  infizierten  Tieren.     Ztschr.    f.   Fleisch-  und  Milch- 
Hyg.  14:  222-224.     1904. 

49.  Rabinowitsch,  L.  and  Kempner,  W.,  Beitrag  zur  Frage  der  In- 
fectiositat der  Milch  tuberculoser  Kuhe,  sowie  iiber  den  Nutzen  der 
Tuber culinimpfung.     Ztschr.  f.  Hyg.  31:  137-152.     1899. 

50.  Ravenel,  M.  P;,  Tuberculosis  and  milk  supply.     Public  Health 
23:  289-296.     1897. 

51.  Ravenel,  M.  P.,  The  passage  of  tubercle  bacilli  through  the 
normal  intestinal  wall;  a  preliminary  report.     Public  Health  29:  404- 
405.     1903. 

52.  Rogers  and  Garnier,  Cited  by  Mohler. 

53.  Royal    Commission   on   Tuberculosis,   Third    Interim     Report. 
Ref.  Jour,  for  Comp.  Path,  and  Ther.  22:  77.     1909. 

54.  Russell,  H.  L.,  The  infectiousness  of  milk  from  tuberculous 
cows.     Wisconsin  Agr.  Exp.  Sta.  Eleventh  Ann.  Rep.  1894,  p.  196- 
197. 

55.  Russell,   H.   L.   and  Hastings,  E.   G-.,  Infectiousness  of  milk 
from  tubercular  cows.    Wisconsin  Agr.  Exp.  Sta.  Ann.  Rep.  1904,  p. 
172-177. 

56.  Schmidt-Muhlheim,  Cited  by   Smit,   H.   J.,  Centralb.   f.   Bakt. 
Abt.  I,  Orig.  49:  41.     1909. 

57.  Schreiber  und  Neumann,  Gehen  Rotlaufbazillen  durch  das  nor- 
male  Enter  geimpter  Rinder  in  die  Milch  iiber?     Ztschr.  f.  Fleisch- 
und  Milch-Hyg.  18:  57-58.     1908. 

58.  Schroeder,   E.    C.,    Further   experimental   observations   on   the 
presence  of  tubercle  bacilli  in  the  milk  of  cows.     U.S.   Dept.  Agr. 
Bur.  Animal  Industry  Bull.  7:  75-77.     1894. 

59.  Semmer,  E.,  Versuche  iiber  die  Uebertragbarkeit  der  Tubercu- 
lose (Perlsucht)  der  Rinder  auf  andere  Thiere.   (Deutsche  Ztschr.  f. 
Thiermed.   und   vergleichende   Path.   2:   209-220.      1875.)      Cited  by 
Mohler. 

60.  Smit,  H.   J:,  Ueber  das  Vorkommen  von  Tuberkelbacillen  in 
der   Milch   und   den   Lymphdriisen   des   Rindes.      Centralb.    f.    Bakt., 
Abt.  I,  Orig.  49:  36-71.     1909. 


362  BULLETIN  No.   149  [February, 

61.  Smith,   Theobald   and    Schroeder,   E.    C.,    Some    experimental 
observations  on  the  presence  of  tubercle  bacilli  in  the  milk  of  tuber- 
culous cows  when  the  udder  is  not  visibly  diseased.     U.S.  Dept.  Agr. 
Bur.  Animal  Industry  Bull.  3:  60.     1893. 

62.  Stein,  Gottlieb,  Experimented  Beitrage  zur  Infectiositat  der 
Milch  perlsiichtiger   Kiihe.      (Inaugural   Dissertation,   Berlin,    1884.) 
Cited  by  Mohler. 

63.  Stenstrom,   Beitrag  zur  Frage  der  Gegenwart  von  Tuberkel- 
bazillen   in  der  Milch  von   Kiihen,   welche  nur   auf   Tuberkulin  re- 
agieren.     Ztschr.  f.  Fleisch-  und  Milch-Hyg.  14:  277.     1902. 

64.  Wesener,  F.,  Kritische  und  experimentelle  Beitrage  zur  Lehre 
von  der  Fiitterungtuberculose.     Cited  by  Mohler. 

65.  Zschokke,  Ein  Weiteres  zur  Frage  der  Tuberkulosis.      (Sch- 
weizer  Archiv  f.  Thierheilkunde  26:  262-267.     1884.)     Cited  by  Moh- 
ler. 

66.  Zurn,  F.  A.,  Cited  by  Mohler. 

EXAMINATION  OF  FECES  FOR  TUBERCLE  BACILLI. 

INTRODUCTION. 

Schroeder  and  Cotton"  first  called  attention  to  the  frequency 
with  which  the  feces  of  cattle  contain  living  tubercle  bacilli,  and 
the  possibility  of  their  introduction  into  milk  in  ths  way.  "We 
have  seen,  also,  from  the  work  of  the  United  States  Public  Health 
and  Marine-Hospital  Service  that  among  172  samples  of  city  milk 
examined  121  or  70  percent  contained  a  sediment  after  standing 
a  fezv  hours  in  the  original  containers,  and  that  the  sediment 
consisted  in  part  of  cow  feces" .  (Schroeder7  pages  14-15.)  Tru- 
man12 examined  232  samples  of  milk  collected  in  the  city  of  Chi- 
cago. Of  these,  158  samples  or  68  percent  contained  visible  sedi- 
ment. Of  212  samples  of  milk  collected  in  other  Illinois  cities 
of  over  10,000  inhabitants  he  found  88  percent  containing  visi- 
ble sediment.  These  facts  indicate  the  danger  to  man  from  the 
use  of  milk  contaminated  with  manure  of  tuberculous  cows,  and 
because  of  the  frequency  with  which  fecal  material  from  cows  is 
present  in  market  milk  this  phase  of  the  subject  seems  worthy  of 
careful  study.  Furthermore,  the  recognition  of  the  importance  of 
tubercle  bacilli  in  the  manure  is  a  rather  recent  development  in 
the  study  of  bovine  tuberculosis.  For  these  reasons  it  is  con- 
sidered in  some  detail. 

LITERATURE 

Schroeder  and  Mohler10  first  proved  that  tubercle  bacilli  will 
pass  thru  the  alimentary  tract  of  cattle  and  pass  out  in  their 
feces  alive  and  virulent  for  hogs.  They  also  performed  several 


TUBERCULOSIS  OF  FARM  ANIMALS  363 

experiments  by  adding  to  milk,  feces  from  cows  known  to  be 
passing  tubercle  bacilli,  and  then  inoculating  guinea  pigs  with  this 
soiled  milk.  In  this  way  they  were  able  to  produce  tuberculosis 
in  the  guinea  pigs.  They  claim  that  the  chief  source  of  danger 
lies  in  the  contamination  of  the  milk  with  feces  which  may  con- 
tain tubercle  bacilli.  Schroeder  and  Cotton*  examined  by  micro- 
scopial  tests  seven  natural  cases  of  tuberculosis  in  cattle,  and  found 
tubercle  bacilli  in  the  feces  in  five  or  71.43  percent  of  the  cases. 
They  consider  the  microscopical  test  a  reliable  means  of  determin- 
ing the  bacilli  in  cow  feces.  They  say  "At  first  it  was  believed 
that  the  bacilli  in  the  preparations  belonged  in  whole  or  in  part 
to  the  latter  group  (harmless  acid-fast  bacteria')  but  this  view 
teas  not  tenable  after  it  was  discovered  that  similar  bacilli  could 
not  be  found  in  material  from  non-tuberculous  cattle."  (Schroeder 
and  Cotton,9  p.  9.)  Inoculation  experiments  were  made  with  the 
feces  of  the  five  cows,  into  guinea  pigs,  with  the  result  that  three 
of  the  five  were  shown  to  be  passing  virulent  tubercle  bacilli. 
They  consider  feces  to  be  the  most  dangerous  factor  in  the  dis- 
semination of  bovine  tubercle  bacilli.  "In  this  respect  feces  must 
be  regarded  as  having  a  place  zmth  cattle  similar  to  that  com- 
monly accorded  to  sputa  unth  tuberculous  persons."  (Schroeder 
and  Cotton/  p.  22.)  .  They  conclude  that  every  cow  known  to 
be  affected  with  tuberculosis  must  be  regarded  as  positively  dan- 
gerous, since  we  are  unacquainted  with  any  means  by  which  it 
can  be  determined  when  tuberculous  cattle  or  their  feces  become 
dangerous  to  the  health  of  persons  or  animals. 

Schroeder7  says  that  practically  no  tuberculous  herd  is  very 
long  free  from  a  dangerously  tuberculous  animal,  and  since  we 
cannot  tell  when  a  tuberculous  cow  becomes  dangerous  we  are 
forced  to  assume  for  practical  purposes  that  every  tuberculous  cow 
is  dangerous  from  the  moment  she  is  affected  with  tuberculosis. 
She  may  be  dangerous  long  before  the  disease  is  indicated  by 
her  physical  appearance.  He  says  that  about  forty  percent  of 
all  cows  reacting  to  tuberculin  are  passing  virulent  tubercle  bacilli 
in  the  feces,  this  being  the  commonest  mode  of  expelling  these 
germs  from  a  cow's  body.  In  a  later  communication  he  further 
emphasizes  the  danger  to  man  from  this  source.  He  collected 
twelve  tuberculous  cows  from  several  dairy  herds  and  kept  them 
under  observation  for  two  years.  They  were  in  excellent  general 
condition  and  had  no  visible  symptoms  of  the  disease.  During  the 
first  two  months  microscopial  examinations  showed  that  five  or 
41  YJ,  percent  were  expelling  tubercle  bacilli ;  eighteen  months 
later  ten  or  83^3  percent  were  expelling  these  germs  in  the  feces. 
He  says  that  ordinary  market  milk  always  contains  sediment  con- 
sisting of  cow  dung.  The  micro-organisms  are  very  easily  de- 


364  BULLETIN  No.   149  [February, 

tached  and  washed  from  the  dung  into  the  milk.  Such  milk 
inoculated  into  guinea  pigs  produces  tuberculosis.  Tubercle  ba- 
cilli are  found  in  the  separated  cream  as  well  as  in  the  sediment. 
Butter  made  from  such  cream  also  contains  them  in  a  condition 
virulent  to  guinea  pigs.  In  ordinary  salted  butter  they  may  re- 
main alive  at  least  1 60  days.  In  conclusion  Schroeder8  says  that 
tuberculous  cows  frequently  expel  tubercle  bacilli  per  rectum. 
These  germs  may  come  from  the  lungs  and  not  necessarily  from 
the  intestinal  mucosa.  They  are  evenly  distributed  in  the  mass  of 
the  f  eces  and  expelled  in  large  numbers ;  easily  enter  ,milk,  butter 
and  ice-cream  and  may  thus  be  transmitted  to  human  beings.  He 
concludes  further  that  since  Mohler  and  Washburn  have  converted 
the  bovine  type  of  tubercle  bacillus  into  the  human  type  by  pass- 
age thru  cats  (which  work  he  accepts  as  trustworthy),  this  may 
occur  in  the  human  body  as  readily,  and  it  is  therefore  impera- 
tively necessary  for  the  protection  of  public  health  that  all  milk 
should  be  obtained  from  cows  certainly  free  from  tuberculosis, 
and  from  cows  stabled,  milked,  and  pastured  in  environments 
free  from  tuberculous  infection,  or  else  the  dairy  products  should 
be  pasteurized  or  sterilized  before  they  are  used  as  food  in  any 
form. 

Reynolds  and  Beebe5  have  also  examined  the  feces  of  tubercu- 
lous cattle.  They  had  for  their  material  feces  of  45  cattle  which 
had  reacted  to  tuberculin.  These  were,  for  the  most  part,  pure 
bred  cattle.  The  majority  of  them  had  reacted  to  tuberculin  two 
years  and  a  part  several  years  before  the  experiment  was  made. 
The  manure  of  sixteen  of  these  was  tested  three  times;  that  of 
one,  five  times;  of  two,  four  times;  of  fourteen,  twice,  and  of 
seven,  once.  Of  the  entire  herd,  only  one  animal  was  excreting 
virulent  tubercle  bacilli  in  her  feces.  Her  nasal  secretions  also 
contained  Bacillus  tuberculosis.  The  feces  were  collected  with  a 
rectal  spoon  The  hind  parts  of  the  cow  were  previously  disin- 
fected in  most  cases.  Two  grams  of  feces  were  rubbed  up  in 
sterile  water.  At  first  5  cc.  of  this  emulsion  were  injected  sub- 
cutaneously;  this  killed  all  the  guinea  pigs.  Later,  0.5  cc.  of 
the  emulsion  was  used  and  this  worked  fairly  well.  Microscopic 
test  for  the  presence  of  tubercle  bacilli  in  manure  is  not  reliable 
according  to  these  authors.  In  the  single  case  in  which  the  ani- 
mal inoculation  proved  the  presence  of  the  tubercle  bacilli  they 
were  unable  to  detect  these  germs  in  the  feces  by  the  use  of  the 
microscope.  They  also  consider  it  impossible  to  distinguish  with 
certainty  by  microscopic  examination  alone,  between  tubercle  ba- 
cilli and  other  acid-fast  bacteria  which  may  be  present  in  the  feces 
of  the  cow. 

The   Royal   Commission   on   Tuberculosis8   tested   the   samples 


/p/z]  TUBERCULOSIS  OF  FARM  ANIMALS  365 

of  feces  from  six  naturally  tuberculous  cattle,  of  which  three 
showed  physical  signs  of  tuberculosis.  For  the  purpose  of  the 
experiments,  a  considerable  quantity  of  fecal  matter  was  required. 
The  action  of  the  rectum  was  stimulated  by  injecting  air  into  it 
thru  a  sterile  glass  tube  and  the  feces  were  received  directly  into 
a  sterilized  pail  applied  to  the  margin  of  the  anal  orifice.  This 
was  necessary  to  'prevent  contamination  from  the  vagina  since 
three  of  the  cows  tested  had  extensive  tuberculosis  of  the  uterus 
and  one,  at  least,  was  excreting  purulent  material  from  the  va- 
ginal outlet.  A  portion  of  the  feces  was  rubbed  up  in  a  mortar 
with  sufficient  normal  salt  solution  to  form  an  emulsion  that  could 
be  pressed  thru  muslin.  It  was  found  that  0.05  cc.  of  this  emul- 
sion injected  intraperitoneally  did  not  kill  the  test  animals  with 
acute  peritonitis.  Feces  were  fed  also  to  guinea  pigs  and  swine. 
The  swine  were  young  animals,  about  eleven  weeks  old,  all  be- 
longing to  three  litters,  raised  upon  the  same  farm.  They  were 
all  tested  with  tuberculin  and  found  free  from  tuberculosis  before 
they  were  used  in  the  experiments.  One  pig  from  each  of  the  two 
litters  was  kept  as  a  control  and  when  killed  at  the  end  of  the 
experiment  was  quite  normal.  The  feces  were  fed  to  the  swine 
in  previously  sterilized  milk,  each  animal  being  fed  for  about  one 
week,  receiving  in  this  time  several  pounds  of  moist  feces.  Some 
guinea  pigs  were  fed  the  tuberculous  feces  in  sterilized  milk,  and 
others  received  a  single  dose  administered  by  a  pipette.  The  dose 
given  was  one  cubic  centimeter  of  the  emulsion  used  for  inocula- 
tion, a  quantity  fifty  times  that  employed  for  intraperitoneal  in- 
jection. Except  those  guinea  pigs  that  died  early  and  were  thus 
thrown  out  of  the  test,  every  guinea  pig  save  one  inoculated  with 
feces  from  the  three  obviously  tuberculous  cows  become  tubercu- 
lous. Every  one  of  the  five  swine  fed  the  feces  from  two  of 
these  cows  became  tuberculous.  'The  feces  of  the  other  cow  were 
not  fed  to  swine.  From  cow  D,  one  of  the  cows  that  showed  no 
outward  signs  of  tuberculosis,  six  of  the  fourteen  guinea  pigs 
inoculated  became  tuberculous.  The  41  guinea  pigs  inoculated 
with  feces  from  cow  A,  and  18  guinea  pigs  inoculated  with  feces 
of  cow  E  remained  free  from  tuberculosis.  Four,  swine  were  fed 
with  the  feces  of  cow  A  and  one  of  them  became  tuberculous. 
Two  swine  were  fed  with  the  feces  from  cow  D,  and  two  with 
the  feces  of  cow  E.  These  animals  remained  free  from  tubercu- 
losis. The  feeding  of  36  guinea  pigs  with  the  feces  of  cows  B 
and  C  produced  only  one  tuberculous  guinea  pig.  This  one  was' 
fed  with  the  feces  of  cow  C.  The  feces  from  these  cows,  B  and 
C,  were  shown  by  inoculation  into  guinea  pigs  and  by  feeding 
swine  to  be  very  virulent.  It  thus  appears  that  feeding  suspected 
material  to  guinea  pigs  is  not  a  reliable  test  for  the  presence  of 


366  BULLETIN   No.   149  [February, 

tubercle  bacilli.  Their  results  show  that  five  of  the  six  naturally 
tuberculous  cows  were  passing  virulent  tubercle  bacilli  in  their 
feces  as  shown  by  inoculation  and  feeding  tests.  Two  of  these 
cows,  A  and  D,  were  apparently  in  excellent  health.  Cow  A, 
upon  post  mortem  examination,  was  found  to  have  tubercles  in 
the  lungs  and  in  the  small  intestine;  cow  D  had  a  bad  lung,  with 
pus  in  the  bronchial  tubes.  For  a  tabulation  of  the  results  see 
Table  8,  page  349,  under  literature  of  milk  investigation;  also 
the  autopsy  records  of  these  cows,  page  388. 

Peters  and  Emerson*  consider  the  microscope  alone  of  little 
value  in  the  examination  of  feces  for  tubercle  bacilli,  because  in 
feces  similar  bacilli  are  met  with,  which  stain  in  the  same  way  and 
cannot  be  distinguished  morphologically  from  the  tubercle  bacilli. 
Moreover,  the  real  tubercle  bacilli  may  be  present  in  such  small 
numbers  that  a  microscopic  examination  would  be  inadequate  to 
disclose  them,  as  was  shown  by  Reynolds  and  Beebe.  Guinea 
pig  inoculations  therefore  must  be  resorted  to;  and  not  only  that, 
but  the  characteristic  lesions  of  tuberculosis  must  be  produced  in 
the  animals  before  the  presence  of  tubercle  bacilli  can  be  accepted 
as  proven.  In  their  experiments  these  authors  used  forty-one 
cows.  The  majority  of  the  cows  were  in  excellent  physical  con- 
dition. In  all  cases,  the  tuberculin  test  had  been  applied  only  a 
few  weeks  before  making  the  examinations.  The  feces  were  taken 
with  a  rectal  spoon.  Microscopical  examinations  were  made  for 
acid-fast  organisms,  and  when  such  were  found,  guinea  pigs  were 
inoculated.  For  these  inoculations  the  manure  was  suspended  in 
water  and  0.5  to  I  cc.  of  the  suspension  injected.  The  guinea 
pigs  died  of  septicemia  in  only  a  few  instances.  Feces  from 
twenty-two  cows  were  tested  in  this  way  and,  of  these,  three  were 
shown  to  be  passing  virulent  tubercle  bacilli.  Two  of  these  three 
were  in  good  physical  condition,  and  from  their  appearance  the 
disease  would  not  have  been  suspected.  The  third  was  thin  but 
signs  of  the  disease  were  not  marked. 

Calmette  and  Guerin2  injected  pure  cultures  of  tubercle  bacilli 
into  the  ear  vein  of  several  rabbits.  On  each  of  seven  days  after 
these  injections  a  rabbit  was  killed  and  immediately  the  bile  was 
removed,  centrifuged,  and  the  sediment  injected  into  four  guinea 
pigs.  Forty-five  days  later  all  the  guinea  pigs  were  killed  and 
examined,  with  the  following  results :  Two  of  the  four  guinea 
pigs  inoculated  with  the  bile  sediment  from  the  rabbit  killed  on  the 
third  day  after  the  injection  were  tuberculous.  One  of  the  four 
guinea  pigs  inoculated  with  bile  sediment  from  the  rabbit  killed 
on  the  fourth  day  after  its  injection  was  tuberculous.  All  of  the 
eight  guinea  pigs  inoculated  with  bile  sediment  from  the  fifth  and 


TUBERCULOSIS  OF  FARM  ANIMALS  367 

sixth  day  rabbits  were  tuberculous,  and  three  of  the  four  guinea 
pigs  inoculated  with  bile  sediment  from  the  seventh  day  rabbit 
were  tuberculous.  It  is  therefore  evident  that  tubercle  bacilli  may 
be  excreted  by  the  liver  and  pass  with  the  bile  into  the  intestine. 


EXPERIMENTAL 
For  the  first  series  of  examinations  of  the  dairy 

THE   SAMPLES 


COLLECTION  OF   ,         ,   ,t  tf    ., 

herd  the  samples  were  all  taken  directly  from  the 


rectum  of  the  cow  with  a  sterilized  bone  spoon 
by  one  of  us  (Briscoe)  and  transferred  to  a  sterile  four  ounce 
glass-stoppered  bottle.  This  was  usually  done  while  the  cow  was 
in  the  act  of  defecating  tmt  at  times  the  sample  was  taken  by 
pushing  the  bone  spoon  several  inches  into  the  rectum,  revolving 
and  then  withdrawing  it.  By  repeating  this  operation  once  or 
twice  eight  to  ten  grams  of  feces  were  obtained.  The  spoon  was 
washed  in  five  percent  carbolic  acid  and  dried  with  a  sterile  cloth 
before  taking  each  sample.  The  sample  of  feces  for  the  second 
series,  and  all  samples  since  then,  have  been  taken  by  the  method 
recommended  by  the  Royal  Commission  of  England,  viz.,  by 
pumping  air  into  the  rectum  and  thus  stimulating  the  cow  to 
void.  This  method  has  worked  exceedingly  well.  It  was  often 
possible  in  this  way  to  cause  a  cow  to  void  again  immediately  af- 
ter a  natural  defecation.  Thick  walled  sterile  glass  tubes  ten 
inches  long  with  edges  well  rounded  off  in  the  flame  were  at- 
tached by  rubber  tubing  to  a  rubber  bulb  air  pump.  The  glass 
tubes  were  kept  in  a  sterile  tin  case  and  one  used  for  each  cow. 
The  tube  was  inserted  into  the  rectum  for  five  or  six  inches  and 
air  pumped  in  until  the  cow  was  stimulated  to  void.  This  re- 
quired only  a  few  minutes  and  very  rarely  failed.  The  feces 
were  caught  in  a  one-half  gallon  sterile  tin  pail  provided  with  a 
tight  fitting  cover.  The  pail  was  opened  only  while  collecting  the 
sample.  It  was  held  close  up  to  the  anus  in  order  to  avoid  get- 
ting any  material  from  the  vagina.  About  five  hundred  grams  of 
feces  were  collected  for  each  sample. 


MAKING  THE  ^ie  sample  was  mixed  with  a  sterile  glass  rod 
SUSPENSION  ar|d  exactly  one  gram  of  it  transferred  to  the 
inside  of  the  neck  of  a  sterile  fifty  cubic  centi- 
meter, glass-stoppered,  measuring  flask.*  This  was  moistened 
with  sterile  0.8  percent  salt  solution,  and  rubbed  to  an  emul- 
sion in  "the  neck  of  the  flask  with  a  sterile  glass  rod.  The 
flask  was  then  filled  one-third  full  by  the  addition  of  salt  solution 

*This  method  of  preparing  a   suspension   of    feces  has  been   described  by 
MacNeal,  Latzer,  and  Kerr.3 


368  BULLETIN  No.   149  [February, 

and  thoroly  shaken,  inverted,  and  the  sediment  allowed  to  fall 
back  into  the  neck.  By  gradually  tipping  back  the  flask,  the  sedi- 
ment was  left  in  the  neck  where  it  was  again  rubbed  up  with 
the  glass  rod.  This  was  repeated  until  the  bacteria  of  the  feces 
were  brought  thoroly  into  suspension,  and  the  pieces  of  straw  ap- 
peared quite  clean.  The  flask  was  now  filled  to  the  mark  and  the 
contents  thoroly  mixed.  This  gave  a  two  percent  suspension  of 
feces. 

CENTRIFU  Forty  cubic  centimeters  of  this  suspension  were 

CATION  transferred   by   means   of   a   sterile   Pasteur  bulb 

pipette  to  two  sterile  centrifuge  tubes.  These 
were  centrifuged  for  five  minutes  at  1800  revolutions  per  minute, 
which  treatment  threw  down  only  the  coarser  sediment.  The 
supernatant  liquid  containing  most  of  the  bacteria  was  drawn  off 
and  put  into  other  centrifuge  tubes  and  again  centrifuged  thirty 
minutes  at  2000  revolutions  per  minute.  This  produced  a  kind 
of  differential  sedimentation  and  is  a  process  similar  to  that  used 
by  Strassburger11  in  his  work  on  the  occurrence  of  tubercle  bacilli 
in  the  feces  of  men  and  also  to  that  of  MacNeal,  Latzer,  and 
Kerr3  in  their  work  on  fecal  bacteria  of  healthy  men. 

The  preparations  for  microscopical  examinations 

STAINING  .          ,,        % 

FECES  were   made  by   smearing  the    feces    directly    on 

SAMPLE  FOR  slides.  This  was  done  either  by  picking  up  shreds 
B.  TUBERCU-  of  mucus  from  the  surface  of  the  fecal  mass  and 
LOSIS  spreading  them  on  the  slides,  or  by  taking  some 

of  the  mass  itself  and  smearing  it  over  the  slide 
and  rubbing  it  down  to  a  thin  layer  with  another-  slide.  Besides 
the  direct  smears  made  in  the  two  ways  described,  preparations 
of  the  sediment  obtained  by  centrifugation  were  made  and  stained. 
All  these  preparations  were  stained  in  the  manner  described  un- 
der general  methods  for  staining  Bacillus  tuberculosis  (page  324). 


INOCULATION  -  P1SS  were  inoculated  with  each  sam- 

|NTO  TEST          pie.     The  dose  used  for  inoculation  was  in  most 
ANIMALS  instances  one  cubic  centimeter  of  the  original  two 

percent  suspension  of  feces.  In  a  few  instances 
ice.  of  a  concentrated  suspension  of  the  mixed  bacteria  obtained 
by  the  centrifuge  according  to  the  method  of  Strasburger  given 
above  was  injected.  In  all  cases  the  injection  was  made  into 
guinea  pigs  under  the  skin  of  the  right  thigh  in  doses  of  one 
cubic  centimeter  each.  It  is  rather  surprising  that  only  a  few 
guinea  pigs  died  of  acute  infection  when  inoculated  with  the  cen- 
trifuged bacteria.  It  is  evident  that  centrifuging  concentrates 
the  fecal  bacteria  and  among  them  the  tubercle  bacilli  when  pres- 
ent. An  attempt  was  made  to  compare  centrifuged  sediment  with 


1911}  TUBERCULOSIS  OF  FARM  ANIMALS  369 

the  original  suspension  by  inoculating  one  guinea  pig  with  the 
centrifuge  sediment  and  another  with  one  cubic  centimenter  of  the 
two  percent  emulsion  of  the  same  sample.  In  no  one  of  the 
twelve  cases  in  which  this  was  done  have  we  found  any  tubercu- 
losis. It  is  therefore  impossible  to  estimate  from  these  tests  the 
relative  merit  of  the  two  procedures.  Only  two  of  the  twelve 
guinea  pigs  inoculated  with  centrifuged  material  died  of  acute  in- 
fection and  apparently  one  of  these  was  not  due  to  the  bacteria 
inoculated  but  largely  to  some  improper  food.  The  results  indi- 
cate that  guinea  pigs  may  stand  a  much  larger  dose  of  bacteria 
if  they  are  free  from  other  undissolved  material. 

DELICACY  OF  Three  series  of  experiments  to  ascertain  the  deli- 
ANIMAL  IN-  Cac7  °f  guinea  pig  inoculation  as  a  means  of  test- 
OCULATION  ing  feces  for  tubercle  bacilli  have  been  performed. 
TESTS  In  these  experiments  definite  amounts  of  a  pure 

culture  of  bovine  tubercle  bacilli  were  added  to 
suspensions  of  cow  feces  and  then  tested  by  injection  into 
guinea  pigs.  The  original  of  the  cultures  employed  in  the  tests 
was  obtained  from  Dr.  Theobold  Smith  of  Harvard  Medical 
School,  in  October,  1908,  and  has  since  been  propagated  in  our 
laboratory  upon  artificial  media.  The  culture  grows  well  on  gly- 
cerin agar,  glycerin  potato,  egg  medium,  and  blood  serum.  It  has 
been  tested  upon  guinea  pigs  and  shown  to  be  virulent. 

A  heavy  growth  upon  an  inclined  glycerin  agar  was  used. 
The  mass  of  bacterial  substance  was  very  carefully  removed  from 
the  agar  surface  by  means  of  a  strong  platinum  wire,  avoiding  as 
far  as  possible  the  admixture  of  moisture  or  of  agar.  The  bac- 
terial substance  was  transferred  to  the  inside  of  the  neck  of  a 
weighed  sterile  25  cc.  measuring  flask,  and  then  accurately  weighed 
upon  an  analytical  balance.  A  little  sterile  0.8  percent  salt  solu- 
tion was  then  added  and  the  mass  thoroly  rubbed  up  in  the  neck 
of  the  flask  with  a  sterile  glass  rod.  The  glass  rod  and  inner  wall 
of  the  neck  of  the  flask  were  carefully  washed  with  salt  solution 
as  it  was  added  to  the  contents  of  the  flask  from  a  Pasteur  bulb 
pipette.  By  vigorous  shaking  and  by  further  trituration  of  mi- 
croscopic particles  an  apparently  homogeneous  suspension  was  ob- 
tained. It  was  then  diluted  to  the  mark  on  the  flask  (25  cc.). 
Microscopic  examination  showed  most  of  the  bacterial  cells  to 
be  separate,  but  not  all  of  them.  Clumps  of  twenty  or  more  cells 
and  also  some  larger  masses  were  still  present.  By  allowing  the 
suspension  to  settle  a  moment  just  before  measuring  out  portions 
from  it,  these  clumps  were  largely  avoided  in  the  material  actually 
inoculated  into  the  animals. 


370 


BULLETIN  No.   149 


[February, 


Experiment  i 

For  this  experiment  suspensions  of  a  pure  culture  of  bovine 
tubercle  bacilli  were  desired  in  dilution  of  one  to  one  hundred 
thousand  and  one  to  ten  million.  To  make  these  suspensions  25 
milligrams  of  the  agar  culture  were  weighed  off  and  diluted  accord- 
ingly.* The  sample  of  feces  was  taken  from  heifer  No.  73,  which 
had  given  a  negative  tuberculin  test.  The  results  are  recorded  in 
Table  12.  Every  one  of  the  guinea  pigs  in  this  experiment  be- 
came tuberculous,  even  the  controls.  This  was  quite  a  disappoint- 
ment, as  far  as  the  controls  were  concerned,  for  the  feces  were 
supposed  to  be  free  from  tubercle  bacilli.  Immediately  upon  find- 
ing that  the  controls  were  tuberculous,  another  sample  of  feces 
was  obtained  from  heifer  73,  and  four  healthy  guinea  pigs  inocu- 
lated with  suspensions  of  the  same.  At  the  end  of  83  days  autopsy 

TABLE  12 — THE  QUANTITY  OF  TUBERCLE  BACILLI  IN  FRESH  Cow  MANURE 
NECESSARY  TO  PRODUCE  TUBERCULOSIS  WHEN  INOCULATED  INTO  GUINEA  PIGS 


Material  sus- 

— j—                       

pended,  per  cc. 

-2  c 

V   ° 

Mode 

•r.  o> 

'     C 

;  c 

ID 

C 

Ti  £»r»f»c 

Tubercle 

"-H  '£ 

'3  be 

of 

ctf  fie 

Autopsy 

h  •a«9 

_o  o  rt 

.2 

JL1  Cv^Co 

bacilli 

§  So 

death 

Q  ,2 

§  tn   al 

"3 

mg. 

mg-. 

tl 

0 

0. 

0.0100 

0 

201 

Killed 

42 

Generalized  tuberculosis 

- 

- 

_l_ 

20. 

0.0100 

-(- 

195 

Killed 

52 

Generalized  tuberculosis 

- 

_l_ 

20. 

0.0100 

-)- 

196 

Died 

40 

Generalized  tuberculosis 

+ 

-|- 

20. 

0.0100 

0 

193 

Died 

34 

Generalized  tuberculosis 

- 

- 

-j- 

20. 

0.0100 

0 

194 

Killed 

47 

Generalized  tuberculosis 

_j_ 

0. 

0.0001 

0 

202 

Killed 

67 

Generalized  tuberculosis 

_)_ 

20. 

0.0001 

-j- 

199 

Killed 

42 

Generalized  tuberculosis 

_l- 

20. 

0.0001 

-[- 

200 

Killed 

42 

Generalized  tuberculosis 

_j_ 

20. 

0.0001 

0 

197 

Killed 

42 

Generalized  tuberculosis 

- 

_l_ 

20. 

0.0001 

0 

198 

Killed 

54 

Generalized  tuberculosis 

- 

JL 

20. 

0.0000 

0 

191 

Killed 

42 

Generalized  tuberculosis 

- 

_(_ 

20. 

0.0000 

0 

192 

Killed 

42 

Generalized  tuberculosis 

+ 

Table  12a. — Supplementary  test  of  Feces  of  Heifer  73 


20. 

0.0000 

0 

273 

Killed 

83 

Normal 

20. 

0.0000 

0 

274 

Killed 

83 

Normal 

20. 

0.0000 

0 

275 

Killed 

83 

Normal 

20. 

0.0000 

0 

276    Killed 

83 

Normal 

showed  them  all  to  be  healthy.  It  appears  that  by  some  mishap 
the  control  suspension  contained  some  of  the  pure  culture  of 
tubercle  bacilli.  At  the  time  there  was  available  only  one  syringe 
and  it  is  probable  that  the  boiling  which  the  syringe  received  be- 
tween inoculations  was  insufficient  to  kill  all  the  tubercle  bacilli ; 
and  in  this  way  some  of  the  pure  culture  was  carried  over  to  the 
controls. 


*Tubercle  bacilli  Feces  or  salt 

solution. 

0.025 -g.  in    25  cc. 

5  cc.  Dil.  A  (.005  g.)  in  100  cc. 

10  cc.  Dil.  B    (.000,  5  g.)     in     50  cc. 


=Dil.  A.  i  cc.  contains 
=Dil.  B.  i  cc.  contains 
=Dil.  C.  i  cc.  contains 


0.5  cc.  Dil.  C  (.000,005  g.)  in     50  cc.     =Dil.  D.  I  cc.  contains 


Tubercle  bacilli 

.001  g. 
.000,05  g. 
.000,01  g. 

.000,000,1    g. 


TUBERCULOSIS  OF  FARM  ANIMALS 


371 


Experiment  2 

Two  dilutions  of  bovine  tubercle  bacilli  were  used  in  this  ex- 
periment, the  more  concentrated  being  the  same  as  the  most  di- 
lute in  Experiment  i,  i.e.,  one  ten  millionth  gram  of  bovine  tu- 
bercle bacilli  per  cubic  centimeter ;  the  highest  dilution,  one  billionth 
gram  per  cubic  centimeter.  The  fresh  feces  were  obtained  this  time 
from  heifer  74.  She  had  just  calved  and  was  negative  to  the 
ophthalmic,  cutaneous,  and  subcutaneous  tuberculin  tests.  The 
sample  was  collected  and  suspensions  made  as  described  above. 
To  make  these  suspensions  22  milligrams  of  germ  substance  from 
an  agar  culture  were  diluted  as  in  Experiment  I.*  In  injecting 
these  doses  into  the  animals,  three  syringes  were  employed.  These 
were  sterilized  in  the  autoclave  at  fifteen  pounds  pressure  for  fif- 
teen minutes  before  using  the  first  time.  They  were  then  steri- 
lized by  boiling  for  fully  fifteen  minutes  before  being  used  again 
The  suspensions  free  from  tubercle  bacilli  were  injected  first,  then 

TABLE  13 — THE  QUANTITY  OF  TUBERCLE  BACILLI  IN  FRESH  Cow  MANURE 
NECESSARY  TO  PRODUCE  TUBERCULOSIS  WHEN  INOCULATED  INTO  GUINEA 
PIGS.  EXPERIMENT  2. 


Material  sus- 

CO 

pended,  per  cc. 

4§ 

ri  o 

*>5 

Mode 

*d 

01  <u 

^s  03 

g.2  g 

u 

B 

Feces 

Tubercle 
bacilli 

££ 

~Z    RJ 

§  be 

C  I*H 

•«H      . 

3  bC 
rh  '£ 

of 
death 

rt  0< 
Prt 
^H 

Autopsy 

0   g-rt 

£  °£ 

^    tfi 

3 

-M 

9 

mg. 

mg. 

0 

(J  p. 

0) 

g 

20. 

0.000  10 

+ 

282 

Killed 

82 

Generalized  tuberculosis 

+ 

+ 

20. 

0.000  10 

281 

Died 

73 

Generalized  tuberculosis 

-r- 

+ 

20. 

0.000  10 

0 

280 

Killed 

82 

Generalized  tuberculosis 

+ 

0 

20. 

0.000  10 

0 

279 

Killed 

82 

Generalized  tuberculosis 

+ 

+ 

0. 

0.000  10 

0 

287 

Killed 

82 

Generalized  tuberculosis 

+ 

0 

20-. 

0.000  01 

+ 

286 

Died 

80 

Generalized  tuberculosis 

+ 

0 

20. 

0.000  01 

285 

Killed 

83 

Generalized  tuberculosis 

4- 

0 

20. 

0.000  01 

0 

284 

Killed 

80 

Normal 

0 

0 

20. 

0.000  01 

0 

283 

Killed 

81 

Generalized  tuberculosis 

+ 

0 

0. 

0.000  01 

0 

289 

Killed 

82 

Generalized  tuberculosis 

+ 

0 

0. 

0.000  01 

0 

288 

Killed 

82 

Generalized  tuberculosis 

+ 

0 

20. 

0.000  00 

0 

278 

Died 

2 

No  tubercles 

0 

0 

20. 

0.000  00 

0 

277 

Killed 

82 

Normal 

0 

0 

*Tubercle  bacilli 

0.022   grams 

i  cc.  of  Dil.  A   ( 

2.84  cc.  of  Dil.  B 


Feces  or  salt 
solution. 


Tubercle  bacilli 


.022 


g.) 


in  25  cc.     =Dil.  A,  I  cc.  contains 
in  10  cc.     —Dil.  B,  I  cc.  contains 


.022 
25 
.022 
250 


50  cc.     =Dil.  C,  i  cc.  contains  2-84x.Q22 

250x50    ' 


or  i  cc.  contains  .000,005  g- 

i  cc.  Dil.  C  (.000,005  g.)         in  50  cc.     =Dil.  D,  i  cc.  contains  .000,000,1  g. 

i  cc.  Dil.  C  (.000,005  g.)       in  100  cc.     =Dil.  E,   I  cc.  contains  .000,000,05  g. 

i  cc.  Dil.  E   (.000,000,05  g-)   i°  5°  cc-     — Dil.  F,  i  cc.  contains  .000,000,001  g. 


372 


BULLETIN  No.  149 


[February, 


the  suspensions  containing  the  smaller  amounts  of  these  germs, 
and  last  those  doses  containing  the  larger  amounts  of  tubercle 
bacilli.  In  this  way  the  difficulty  encountered  in  the  preceding 
experiment  was  avoided.  The  results  are  recorded  in  Table  13. 
One  of  the  controls  died  on  the  second  day.  The  other  survived 
and  remained  free  from  tubercles.  Generalized  tuberculosis  was 
produced  in  the  test  guinea  pigs  by  the  highest  dilution  used,  both 
by  the  pure  culture  samples  and  by  the  pure  culture  added  to  the 
feces.  The  centrifuged  material  produced  on  the  whole  a  more 
severe  infection. 

Experiment  5 

The  feces  suspension  and  emulsions  of  the  pure  culture  of 
bovine  tubercle  bacilli  were  made  in  a  similar  manner  to  those 
in  Experiment  2.  Three  dilutions  of  the  tubercle  bacilli  were  used 
in  this  experiment.  The  strongest  concentration  employed  here 
was  the  same  as  the  most  dilute  of  Experiment  2,  namely,  one 
billionth  gram  pure  culture  of  bovine  tubercle  bacilli  per  cubic 
centimeter.  The  second  dilution  contained  one  ten-billionth  and 
the  third  dilution  one-hundred-billionth  gram  of  tubercle  bacilli 
per  cubic  centimeter.  To  make  these  suspensions*  22.8  milli- 
grams of  the  agar  culture  were  diluted  to  the  above  amounts. 

The  results  of  these  experiments  are  recorded  in  Table  14. 
In  this  experiment  neither  of  the  control  guinea  pigs  became  tu- 
berculous. One,  guinea  pig  364,  died  of  acute  infection  on  the 
nth  day;  the  other  was  healthy  at  the  time  of  autopsy  55  days  af- 
ter inoculation.  At  the  time  when  this  experiment  was  begun 
trouble  existed  with  the  stock  guinea  pigs  dying  on  account  of 


*Tubercle  bacilli  Feces  or  salt 

solution 

0.0228  gram  in  25  cc.     =Dil.  A,  I  cc.  contains  -= 

25 

,0.0228      .    .  .   .  0.0228 

i  cc.  of  Dil.  A   ( g.)    in  100  cc.     =Dil.   B,   I   cc.  contains 

25  2500 


Tubercle  bacilli 
0.0228 


ff- 


i  cc.  of  Dil.  B  (  -—  g.  )  in  loo  cc.     =Dil.  C,  i  cc.  contains  *jS- 


2.74  cc.  of  Dil.  C  (  2-74*0-0228g.  )  in  50  cc.       =Dil.  D,  i  cc.  contains 


2sOOOO 


°r  0-000'000>0°5 


10  cc.  of  Dil.  D   (0.000,000,05  g.) 

in   50  cc.     =Dil.  E,  I   cc.  contains  0.000,000,001  g. 
i  cc.  of  Dil.  D   (0.000,000,005  g-) 

in  50  cc.     —Dil.  F,  i  cc.  contains  0.000,000,000,1  g. 

—  -  cc.  of  Dil.  D   (0.000,000,000,5  g.) 

in  50  cc.     =Dil.  G,  i  cc.  contains  0.000,000,000,01  g. 


TUBERCULOSIS  OF  FARM  ANIMALS 


373 


TABLE  14 — THE  QUANTITY  OF  TUBERCLE  BACILLI  IN  FRESH  Cow  MANURE 
NECESSARY  TO  PRODUCE  TUBERCULOSIS  WHEN  INOCULATED  INTO  GUINEA 
PIGS.  EXPERIMENT  3. 


Material  sus- 
pended, per  cc. 

Centrifu- 
gation 

Guinea 
pig  No. 

Mode 
of 
death 

•a 

tC    V 

>,a> 
ei  a 
P  £ 
*v 

Autopsy 

Micro- 
scopic 
exam. 

Cultures 

Feces 
mg. 

Tubercle 
bacilli 
mg. 

20. 
20. 
20. 
20. 
0. 
20. 
20. 
20. 
20. 
0. 
20. 
20. 
20. 
20. 
0. 
0. 
20. 
20. 

0.000  001 
0.000  001 
0.000  001 
0.000  001 
0.000  001 
0.000  000  10 
0.000  000  10 
0.000  000  10 
0.000  000  10 
0.000  COO  10 
0.000  000  01 
0.000  000  01 
0.000  000  01 
0.000  000  01 
0.000  000  01 
0.000  000  01 
0.000  000  00 
0.000  000  00 

+ 

0 
0 
0 

+ 

0 

0 
0 

+ 

0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
0 

369 
368 
367 
366 
378 
373 
372 
371 
370 
379 
377 
376 
375 
374 
381 
380 
365 
364 

Died 
Died 
Died 
Died 
Killed 
Died 
Killed 
Died 
Killed 
Died 
Died 
Killed 
Died 
Killed 
Died 
Died 
Killed 
Died 

10 
1 
10 
13 
54 
1 
53 
6 
53 
6 
1 
53 
5 
53 
3 
0 
55 
11 

No  tubercles 
Died  within  a  few  hours 
No  tubercles 
No  tubercles 
Generalized  tuberculosis 
No  tubercles 
Generalized  tuberculosis 
No  tubercles 
Normal 
No  tubercles 
No  tubercles 
Generalized  tuberculosis 
No  tubercles 
Slight  tuberculosis 
No  tubercles 
Died  when  inoculated 
Normal 
No  tubercles 

"o" 

0 
0 

+ 



0 

0 

0 

+ 

0 

+ 

0 

0 

improper  care.  One  of  the  animals  selected  for  this  experiment, 
guinea  pig  380,  died  after  it  was  brought  into  the  room  just  before 
time  for  inoculation,  and  within  8  or  10  days  one-half  the  guinea 
pigs  in  the  experiment  were  dead.  So  this  experiment  was  al- 
most a  failure.  However,  we  find  even  the  greatest  dilution  caus- 
ing generalized  tuberculosis  (No.  376). 

A  decided  difference  was  observed  between  centrifuged  and 
uncentrifuged  samples.  Note  in  this  connection  guinea  pig  370, 
inoculated  with  a  sample  that  was  not  centrifuged,  having  a  di- 
lution of  one-ten  billionth  gram  of  pure  culture  of  bovine  tubercle 
bacilli.  This  guinea  pig  remained  healthy,  while  guinea  pig  372, 
inoculated  with  the  sample  of  the  same  dilution  but  centrifuged, 
contracted  generalized  tuberculosis.  Also  note  that  guinea  pig 
374,  inoculated  from  the  sample  whose  dilution  was  one-one-hun- 
dred-billionth gram  per  cubic  centimeter,  which  was  not  centri- 
fuged, had  only  slight  tuberculosis ;  while  guinea  pig  376,  inocu- 
lated from  the  sediment  of  the  same  sample  after  centrifugation 
had  generalized  tuberculosis. 

Conclusions 

i.  A  pure  culture  of  bovine  tubercle  bacilli  in  quantities  as 
small  as  one  one-hundred-billionth  gram  suspended  in  sterile  salt 
solution  or  in  one  percent  feces  emulsion  produced  tuberculosis 
in  guinea  pigs. 


374  BULLETIN   No.   149  [February, 

.  2.  When  the  dilutions  of  pure  culture  of  bovine  tubercle  ba- 
cilli were  as  high  as  one-hundred-billionth  gram  per  cubic  centi- 
meter of  feces  suspension  the  subcutaneous  inoculation  of  the  sed- 
iment of  20  cc.  of  the  centrifuged  suspension  produced  a  more  ex- 
tensive generalized  tuberculosis  than  did  a  similar  inoculation  of 
one  cubic  centimeter  of  the  same  suspension  not  centrifuged.  In 
dilutions  containing  a  greater  amount  of  germ  substance  this  dis- 
tinction was  not  so  clear,  as  very  extensive  generalized  tuberculosis 
usually  resulted  from  the  injection  of  even  the  one  cubic  centi- 
meter of  the  uncentrifuged  material. 

3.  No  difference  was  noted  in  the  effect  upon  guinea  pigs 
whether  the  pure  culture  was  inoculated  in  one  cubic  centimeter 
of  sterile  salt  solution  or  in  one  cubic  centimeter  of  one  percent 
fresh  feces  suspension.  Possibly  higher  dilutions  may  determine 
this  point. 


METHOD  OF  Before  obtaining  the  first  shipment  of  guinea  pigs 
PROCEDURE  which  were  to  be  used  in  this  work,  a  considerable 
number  of  miscroscopic  tests  were  made.  The 
samples  were  collected  as  previously  described  for  the  first  series  of 
tests.  Two  samples  were  taken  from  each  cow,  a  mass  sample  of 
feces  picked  up  from  the  floor  after  the  cow  had  voided,  and  a 
sample  scraped  from  the  wall  of  the  rectum  by  means  of  a  sterilized 
bone  spoon.  From  these  two.  samples,  three  microscopic  prepara- 
tions were  made.  Shreds  of  mucus  were  first  removed  from  the 
surface  of  the  mass  of  feces  and  spread  out  on  glass  slides,  fixed 
and  stained.  Then  the  mass  was  thoroly  mixed  and  a  smear  of 
this  mixed  material  made  on  a  slide,  fixed  and  stained.  A  third 
preparation  was  made  by  smearing  the  mucus  fluid  obtained  from 
the  rectum  on  a  slide.  All  three  of  these  smears  were  stained  with 
carbol-fuchsin  and  methylene  blue  as  described  under  General 
Methods  (page  324).  Each  slide  was  examined  15  minutes  and  the 
number  of  acid-fast  organisms  recorded  as  shown  in  the  Tables  15 
and  16.  If  no  acid-fast  organisms  were  found  in  any  of  the  slides 
made  from  the  sample  tested,  it  was  recorded  as  a  negative  result. 
Usually  only  a  few  acid-fast  organisms  were  found  on  one  slide  in 
the  15  minutes.  Only  five  times  from  the  25  slides  examined  were 
as  many  as  25  acid-fast  organisms  found  on  a  slide.  At  no  time 
were  shreds  of  tissue  containing  abundant  acid-fast  organisms 
found;  the  bacilli  were  generally  separate.  An  acid-fast  strepto- 
thrix  was  found  in  one  sample  of  feces  from  cow  No.  12.  Often 
oval  spore-like  acid-fast  bodies  were  found.  These  in  no  way  re- 


TUBERCULOSIS  OF  FARM  ANIMALS 


375 


sembled  Bacillus  tuberculosis  and  were  never  included  as  positive 
findings  in  the  results  tabulated.  The  only  acid-fast  organisms  so 
included  were  short,  thin  rods  which  were  often  slightly  curved, 
but  sometimes  quite  straight.  In  appearance,  they  resembled  in- 
dividual rods  of  the  bovine  tubercle  bacillus,  a  slide  of  which  was 
constantly  kept  at  hand  for  comparison. 

The  feces  of  both  reacting  and  non-reacting  cows 
were  examined  microscopically  for  tubercle  bacilli. 
Table  15  gives  the  results  from  the  reacting  cows.    Altogether  119 


RESULTS 


TABI,E 


15. — MICROSCOPIC  EXAMINATION   FOR  TUBERCLE    BACII,I,I   IN   THE 
FECES  OF  REACTING  Cows 


6 
X 

| 

o 

O 

6 
fe 
0 

*cL 

a 

3 

cc 

Date  of 
examination 

A.      Mass  of  feces 

B.  Scraping 
from  the 
rectum 

Summary  of 

-4-> 
tfl 

0) 
*J 

Summary 
of  test  on 
cow 

1.  External 
mucus 

2.  Mixed 
material 

"8  « 
%  g 
^c  E 

J1 

r<3 

Pos. 

Neg. 

10 

12 

13 

15 
16 
19 

28 

29 

33 
35 

36 

1 

2 
1 
2 
3 
1 
2 
3 
4 
5 
6 
7 
8 
1 
2 
1 
2 
1 
2 
1 
2 
3 
4 
5 
6 
7 
8 
1 
2 
3 
4 
5 
1 
2 
1 
2 
3 
4 
1 
2 
3 

6-29-08 
8-20-08 
6-18-08 
7-  1-08 
4-28-08 
6-18-08 
6-22-08 
7-  1-08 
7-11-08 
8-  6-08 
8-12-08 
8-19-08 
9-  2-08 
6-19-08 
8-28-08 
6-24-08 
8-13-08 
6-28-08 
8-18-08 
6-18-08 
6-22-08 
7-  1-08 
7-11-08 
8-  6-08 
8-12-03 
8-18-08 
9-  2-08 
6-29-08 
7-  1-08 
9-  2-08 
10-30-09 
11-13-09 
6-25-08 
8-14-08 
6-19-08 
8-  6-08 
9-  3-08 
11-13-09 
6-19-08 
6-24-08 
8-13-08 

2 

0 

only  one 

4 

< 
( 

-1 

- 

- 
J 

) 

D 

3 

0 
0 
0 

0 
0 

0 

0 

- 

0 
0 
0 
0 

0 
0 
0 

f 

0 

f 

0 

1 
1 

5 
1 
1 

1 

7 

1 
1 

1 

2 

1 

2 

3 
1 
1 
1 

1 

4 

1 

3 

1 

0 

0 
many 

0 

0      * 
0 

0 

24 
several 

some 
6 

several 
several 
4 
several 

0 
0 
0 
several 

0 

2 

0 

0 

2 

3 

0 

0 

1 

few 

0 

25 
several 

some 
several 

12 
12 

2 

2 
1 
0 
many 

1 
0 

5 

3 
0 

0 
0 
0 

0 

3 

2 

"6 

0 

0 

0 
many 
0 

severa 
few 

severa 
1 

several 
.      2 

0 

*Acid-fast  streptothrix. 


376 


BULLETIN  No.  149 


[February, 


TABLE  15. — Continued 


r- 

A.      I 

Vlass  of  : 

'eces 

<+H 

O 

Kl 

1 

6 

Z 

£ 

0 

O  . 

fc 

D 

3. 

I 

MH     O 

0£ 
„.  rt 

1*    r> 
-w    5 

«'! 

External 
mucus 

Mixed 
laterial 



~8  _ 

~  c 

-2  « 
'=   i 

l~s 

be  -_ 

f}l 

%  oo 
%  ^  « 

O2  MH     W, 

ummary 
test 

13  ( 

si 
s^ 

1^ 

J  fe 

35 
;  o 

H 

5 

CC 

0) 

iH 

c 
N 

ro 

H 

CC 

Pos. 

Neg. 

37 

1 

6-19-08 

0 

0 

0 

o 

2 

8-28-08 

o 

o 

o 

2 

39 

1 

6-23-08 

few 

2 

3 

4- 

2 

8-25-08 

0 

o 

1 

1 

41 

1 

6-29-08 

2 

4 

few 

4- 

2 

9-  3-08 

o 

o 

1 

1 

42 

1 

6-19-08 

0 

0 

o 

2 

8-  6-08 

o 

o 

3 

9-  3-08 

o 

o 

4 

10-30-09 

o 

o 

o 

4 

47 

1 

6-29-08 

6 

2 

J- 

49 

2 
1 

9-  3-08 
6-24-08 

12 

"o 

0 

0 

0 

4- 

1 

1 

2 

8-26-08 

o 

o 

1 

1 

51 

1 

6-26-08 

0 

0 

0 

0 

2 

8-18-08 

o 

o 

o 

2 

52 

1 

6-22-08 

4 

several 

several 

2 

7-  1-08 

8 

3 

8-21-08 

1 

0 

3 

0 

53 

1 

6-25-08 

several 

several 

several 

2 

8-14-08 

o 

o 

3 

8-18-08 

o 

o 

4 

9-  2-08 

_l_ 

2 

2 

54 

1 

8-25-08 

o 

'o 

0 

1 

55 

1 

6-29-08 

3 

many 

2 

4- 

2 

8--27-08 

2 

4. 

3 

11-13-09 

1 

3 

0 

56 

1 

6-25-08 

6 

several 

3 

4- 

? 

8-14-08 

o 

o 

3 

8-30-09 

o 

o 

4 

11-13-09 

1 

-1- 

2 

2 

57 

1 

6-25-08 

several 

several 

several 

? 

8-14-08 

o 

o 

1 

1 

58 

1 

6-26-08 

few 

few 

0 

4. 

2 

8-18-08 

o 

o 

1 

1 

59 

1 

8-18-08 

o 

o 

0 

1 

60 

1 

6-24-08 

26 

24 

several 

+ 

? 

8-13-08 

o 

o 

1 

1 

61 

1 

8-11-08 

o 

o 

2 

8-27-08 

o 

o 

0 

2 

62 

1 

6-29-08 

3 

25 

4- 

63 

2 
1 

7-  1-08 
9-  2-08 

0 

0 

0 

0 

J. 

1 
1 

1 
0 

64 

1 

8-20-08 

o 

o 

2 

8-30-09 

o 

o 

o 

2 

66 

1 

8-20-08 

o 

0 

0 

1 

67 

1 

8-21-08 

o 

o 

0 

1 

70 

1 

8-11-08 

o 

o 

2 

9-  2-08 

+ 

1 

1 

72 

1 

8-30-09 

1 

4- 

1 

0 

76 

1 

8-25-08 

o 

0 

0 

1 

80 

1 

9-  2-08 

2 

4- 

1 

0 

TUBERCULOSIS  OF  FARM  ANIMALS 


377 


TABLE  15.  —  Continued 


6 
X 

£ 

0 

U 

6 
K 

0) 

"S, 

1 

tc 

Date  of 
examination 

A.     Mass  of  feces 

B.  Scrapin^- 
from  the 
rectum 

Summary  of 
test 

Summary 
of  test  on 
cow 

1.  External 
mucus 

2.  Mixed 

material 

3.  Cenlrilugcd 
sediment 

Pos. 

Neg. 

83 

86 

87 

97 

98 
109 
S.H. 

Iv.H. 
L.B. 

W. 
S6 
F. 

O.S. 
B. 
O.C. 
O. 

l 
2 
3 
1 
1 
2 
3 
1 
2 
1 
1 
1 
2 
1 
1 
2 
1 
2 
1 
2 
1 
2 

1 
1 

1 
1 

6-26-08 
6-29-08 
8-2C-08 
6-23-08 
6-19-08 
6-23-08 
8-21-08 
6-22-08 
8-21-08 
6-23-08 
9-30-09 
9-30-09 
11-13-09 
9-30-09 
11-13-09 
11-28-09 
11-13-09 
11-28-09 
11-13-09 
11-26-09 
11-15-09 
11-26-09 
11-15-09 
11-15-09 
11-15-09 
11-15-09 

3 
1 

2 
13 

2 
few 

4- 

0 
0 

+ 
+ 

0 

+ 

0 
0 

0 
0 
0 
0 
0' 
0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
0 

2 

1 

2 

1 
1 
1 

0 
1 

0 
0 
0 

0 
0 
0 
0 
0 

1 
0 

1 

1 
0 
'0 

2 
0 

2 
2 

2 

2 
1 
1 
1 
1 

0 

several 
0 
few 

several 

2 

0 

2 

few 

4 

12 

+ 

2 

0 

0 

1 

few 

1 
0 
0 
5 
0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
0 

- 



Total,  53  cows,  119  samples 

53 

66 

samples  were  tested  from  53  cows.  Acid-fast  organisms  were 
found  53  times ;  66  times  there  were  no  such  organisms  found. 
Of  the  53  reacting  cows  tested,  acid-fast  bacilli  were  at  some  time 
found  in  the  feces  of  all  but  19.  Of  these  19  in  which  such  bac- 
teria were  not  found  at  all,  8  were  tested  only  once,  9  twice,  and 
i  four  times.  Table  16  gives  the  results  of  examining  the  feces 
from  1 8  non-reacting  cows.  Forty  samples  were  tested  of  which 
23  were  found  to  have  acid-fast  organisms  and  in  17  none  were 
found.  From  3  of  the  18  cows  no  samples  of  feces  examined  con- 
tained acid-fast  organisms.  From  two  of  these,  two  samples  were 
tested,  from  the  other,  only  one  sample  was  used.  Thus,  28  per- 
cent of  the  53  reacting  cows  gave  entirely  negative  results,  while 
only  16^3  per  cent  of  the  non-reacting  herd  gave  samples  without 
acid-fast  organisms.  It  would  seem  from  this  result  that  no  sig- 
nificance can  be  attached  to  the  microscopic  finding  of  a  few  acid' 
fast  bacteria  in  the  feces  of  cattle. 

In  this  connection  it  is  interesting  to  note  the  opinions  of  the 
following  authors :     Schroeder  and  Cotton9  think  that  the  micro- 


378 


BULLETIN   No.   149 


[February, 


TABLE  16 MICROSCOPIC    EXAMINATION    FOR    TUBERCLE   BACILLI    IN   THE 

FECES  OF  NON-REACTING  Cows 


" 

G 

A.     ] 

Mass  of 

:eces 

b£ 

h 

aj  . 

6 
£ 
* 

0 

0 

* 

<u 

3, 

a 

3 

°l 
a| 

33 

a  1 

<xternal 
mucus 

Mixed 
laterial 

:ntrifuged 
ediment 

S   <U 

a£  S 

cd       := 
C  d-C 
o  g  o 
•  P  « 

.*  h 

o 

£"£ 

gl 

D 

« 

Summai 

i-1  £ 
*   O 

D    0 

M 

55 

t» 

(L> 

W 

R 

rj  * 

K 

Pos. 

Neg. 

A. 

1 

6-^9-  '08 

o 

several 

4- 

2 

8-27-  '08 

14 

3 

8-  28-  '08 

6 

3 

0 

B 

1 

6-29-  '08 

o 

0 

several 

9 

7-  1-'08 

0 

0 

0 

3 

8-12-  '08 

0 

o 

4 

8-27-  '08 

0 

o 

1 

3 

c 

1 

6-29-  '08 

3 

0 

4 

_L 

9 

7-  1-'08 

0 

0 

o 

3 

8-'>7-'08 

0 

o 

1 

2 

D 

1 

8-  7-  '08 

0 

o 

2 

9-  1-'08 

2 

+ 

1 

1 

E 

1 

8-12-  '08 

0 

o 

2 

9-  1-'08 

0 

o 

0 

2 

F 

1 

8-  7-  '08 

1 

4. 

2 

9-  1-'08 

o 

o 

1 

1 

G 

1 

8-  7-  '08 

o 

o 

2 

9-  1-!08 

4 

4- 

1 

1 

H 

1 

8-  6-  '08 

3 

-1- 

2 

9-  1-'08 

2 

2 

0 

I 

1 

6-22-  '03 

24 

several 

several 

2 

8-25-  '08 

0 

o 

1 

1 

24 

1 

6-29-  '08 

5 

2 

4. 

2 

7-  1-'08 

0 

0 

o 

3 

7-28-  '08 

0 

o 

1 

2 

26 

1 

6-29-  '08 

3 

1 

0 

4- 

2 

7-  1-'08 

0 

o 

o 

2 

1 

3 

7-28-  '08 

3 

4- 

65 

1 

9-  2-  '08 

o 

0 

0 

1 

63 

1 

9-  2-  '08 

many 

4. 

1 

0 

69 

1 

9-  2-  '08 

0 

0 

2 

8-11-  '08 

0 

o 

o 

2 

85 

1 

7-  1-'08 

4 

4- 

2 

8-27-  '08 

1 

4. 

2 

0 

R 

1 

7-16-  '08 

3 

.  3 

4. 

2 

7-28-  '08 

4 

4 

6 

4- 

2 

0 

H 

1 

2 

7-16-'08 
7-28-  '08 

0 
1 

2 
1 

2 
0 

4. 

2 

o 

J 

1 

7-16-  '08 

0 

'9 

2 

4- 

2 

7-28-  '08 

o 

1 

4 

4. 

7 

0 

Total  18  cows,  40  samples. 


23 


scope  is  adequate  in  determining-  the  presence  of  tubercle  bacilli  in 
feces  of  cattle.  Reynolds  and  Beebe0  were  not  able  to  find  the 
tubercle  bacilli  in  the  feces  of  cow  No.  2l/z  with  which  they  did 
produce  tuberculosis  in  guinea  pigs  by  subcutaneous  inoculations. 
They  think  the  microscopic  method  is  not  a  reliable  test  for  tubercle 
bacilli  in  cattle  manure.  Peters  and  Emerson4  do  not  think  that  a 


rp/j]  TUBERCULOSIS  OF  FARM   ANIMALS  379 

microscopical  test  is  a  sufficient  means  of  testing  for  tubercle  bacilli 
in  the  feces  of  a  cow.  Out  of  twenty-two  cows  in  the  feces  of 
which  they  had  found  acid-fast  organisms  by  microscopic  test, 
guinea  pig  inoculations  only  showed  three  to  be  passing  virulent 
tubercle  bacilli.  Bang1  says  the  microscopic  test  is  of  no  value  ex- 
cept for  rapid  work  when  the  test  is  positive  and  the  tubercle  bacilli 
are  found  in  abundance ;  as  in  the  case  of  tuberculosis  of  the  udder, 
where  a  stained  preparation  of  a  sample  of  milk  may  reveal  hun- 
dreds of  tubercle  bacilli. 

ANIMAL  INOCULATION  TESTS  FOR  TUBERCLE   BACILLI   IN   THE 
FECES  OF  REACTING  CATTLE 

.,..-_,..  The  method  of  collecting  the  samples  and  prepar- 

INOCULATION         .  •>-•«•         i          «T 

TESTS  m§'  "ie  feces  suspension  for  inoculation  has  been 

given  (see  page  367.)  The  amount  inoculated  was 
one  cubic  centimeter  of  a  one  percent  suspension  of  the  feces. 
Only  a  few  times  was  the  suspension  centrifuged  and  the  sediment 
used  for  inoculation.  Two  guinea  pigs  were  used  for  each  sample, 
with  few  exceptions,  when  three  were  used.  There  have  been  made 
two  complete  series  of  tests  including  all  the  reacting  dairy  cattle 
present  in  the  herd  at  the  times  these  tests  were  made :  The  first 
series  was  made  between  the  28th  of  December,  1908,  and  the  4th 
of  January,  1909.  At  this  time  samples  from  thirty-eight  cows 
were  tested  and  two  were  found  to  be  passing  virulent  tubercle  ba- 
cilli, cow  No.  1004  and  cow  No.  83.  The  two  guinea  pigs  inocu- 
lated from  each  were  found  to  have  generalized  tuberculosis.  The 
diagnosis  of  tuberculosis  in  the  guinea  pigs  was  confirmed  by  mi- 
croscopical examination,  by  cultures,  and  by  inoculations  of  the 
tuberculous  tissues  of  each  of  the  four  guinea  pigs  into  two  other 
guinea  pigs.  All  of  these  tests  were  characteristic. 

The  second  series  of  tests  was  made  between  August  6  and  Au- 
gust 9,  1909.  Three  weeks  later  it  was  noted  that  guinea  pigs  inocu- 
lated from  samples  of  cows  72,  64,  and  56  had  enlarged  superior 
inguinal  lymphatic  glands  and  for  this  reason  another  sample  was 
collected  from  each  of  these  three  cows  and  inoculated  into  guinea 
pigs  on  August  31.  Curiously  enough  the  swelling  of  the  lymph 
glands  in  the  guinea  pigs  inoculated  August  6-9  subsided,  and  at 
autopsy  some  weeks  later,  no  evidence  of  tuberculosis  was  found  in 
them.  However,  of  the  guinea  pigs  inoculated  August  31  as  a 
supplementary  test,  -two,  Nos.  527  and  528,  inoculated  with  feces 
of  cow  56  became  tuberculous.  No  other  guinea  pigs  inoculated  in 
this  series  of  tests  showed  any  evidence  of  tuberculosis  at  autopsy. 
Cow  56  was  retested  August  16,  1910,  by  inoculating  two  guinea 
pigs,  778  and  779,  subcutaneously.  One  of  these  guinea  pigs,  779, 
was  wholly  negative,  the  other,  778,  became  tuberculous  and  the 


380 


BULLETIN  No.   149 


[February, 


TABLE  17 — ANIMAL  INOCULATION  TESTS  FOR  TUBERCLE  BACILLI  IN  THE  FECES  OF 

REACTING  Cows 


6 
fe 

£ 
o 
O 

JH 

3.  . 

i£ 

•X! 

Guinea 
pig  No. 

Date  of 
inocula- 
tion 

Mode 
of 
death 

Days 
after 

11OCU- 

Nation 

Autopsy 

Micro- 
scopic 

Cultures 

Reinocu- 
lation 

10 

1 

252 

2-4-  '09 

Killed 

52 

Normal 

253 

2-4-'09 

Killed 

52 

Normal 

2 

512 

8-9-  '09 

Killed 

40 

Normal 

513 

8-9-  '09 

Killed 

40 

Normal 

3 

640* 

9-22-  '09 

Killed 

14 

Normal 

641* 

9-22-  '09 

Killed 

14 

Normal 

12 

1 

254 

2-4-  '09 

Killed 

52 

Normal 

255 

2-4-  '09 

Killed 

52 

Normal 

13 

1 

78 

8-19-  '08 

Killed 

61 

Normal 

79 

8-19-  '08 

Killed 

61 

Normal 

80 

8-19-  '08 

Killed 

61 

Normal 

2 

116 

9-2-  '08 

Died 

2 

Acute 

infection 

117 

9-2-  '08 

Killed 

62 

Normal 

118 

9-2-  '08 

Killed 

62 

Normal 

3 

173 

12-28-  ;08 

Killed 

54 

Normal 

174 

12-28-  '08 

Killed 

55 

Normal 

15 

1 

187 

12-29-  '08 

Killed 

54 

Normal 

188 

12-29-  '08 

Killed 

54 

Normal 

16 

1 

203 

12-31-  '08 

Killed 

53 

Normal 

204 

12-31-  '08 

Killed 

53 

Normal 

2 

492 

8-7-  '09 

Killed 

39 

Normal 

493 

8-  7-  '09 

.Killed 

39 

Normal 

19 

1 

232 

2-3-  '09 

Killed 

51 

Normal 

233 

2-3-  '09 

Killed 

51 

Normal 

28 

1 

81 

8-19-  '08 

Died 

2 

Acute 

infection 

82 

8-1  9-  '08 

Killed 

59 

Normal 

83 

8-19-  '08 

Killed 

59 

Normal 

2 

119 

9-2-  '08 

Killed 

62 

Normal 

120 

9-2-  '08 

Killed 

62 

Normal 

121 

9-2-  '08 

Killed 

62 

Normal 

29 

1 

663 

10-30-  '09 

Died 

1 

Acute 

infection 

664 

10-30-  '09 

Died 

1 

Acute 

infection 

2 

680 

11-13--09 

Killed 

51 

Normal 

681 

11-13-  '(J9 

Died 

6 

Acute 

infection 

33 

1 

205 

12-31-  '08 

Killed 

53 

Normal 

206 

12-31-  '08 

Killed 

53 

Normal 

2 

498 

8-  7-  '09 

Killed 

41 

Normal 

499 

8-  7-  '09 

Killed 

41 

Normal 

35 

1 

682 

11-13-'09 

Died 

12 

Actite 

organisms 

organisms 

infection 

not  acid  fast 

not  acid  fast 

681 

11-13-  '09 

Killed 

51 

Normal 

36 

1 

207 

12-31-  '08 

Killed 

53 

Abscess  in  lung 

organisms 

organisms 

(no  tubercles) 

not  acid  fast 

not  acid  fast 

208 

12-31-  '08 

Killed 

53 

Normal 

2 

502 

8-7-  '09 

Killed 

42 

Normal 

503 

8-7-  '09 

Killed 

42 

Normal 

37 

1 

177 

12-29-  '08 

Killed 

53 

Normal 

178 

12-29-  '08 

Killed 

53 

Normal 

2 

642* 

9-22-  '09 

Killed 

14 

Normal 

643* 

9-22-  '09 

Killed 

14             Normal 

*Killed  by  a  dog. 


TUBERCULOSIS  OF  FARM  ANIMALS 
TABI,E  17 — Continued 


381 


u 

V 

Guinea 
pig  No. 

Date  of 
inocula- 
tion 

Mode 
of 
death 

after 
inocu- 
lation 

Autopsj" 

Micro- 
scopic 

Cultures 

Reinocu- 
lation 

39 

1 

181 

12-29-  '08 

Killed 

54 

Normal 

182 

12-29-  '08 

Killed 

54 

Normal 

41 

1 

209 

12-31-'08 

Killed 

53 

Normal 

210 

12-31-  '08 

Killed 

53 

Normal 

2 

506 

8-9-  '09 

Killed 

40 

Normal 

507 

8-9-  '09 

Killed 

40 

Normal 

42 

1 

665 

10-30-  '09 

Died 

1 

Acute 

infection 

666 

10-30-  '09 

Killed 

64 

Normal 

47 

1 

.37 

9-15-  '09 

Died 

50 

Unknown 

Organisms 

cause 

not  acid  fast 

(no  tubercles) 

138 

9-15-'08 

Killed 

107 

Normal 

139 

9-15-  '08 

Died 

57 

Unknown 

cause 

(no  tubercles) 

Organisms 

49 

1 

211 

12-31-'08 

Killed 

53 

Normal 

not  acid  fast 

212 

12-31-  '08 

Killed 

53 

Normal 

2 

496 

8-7-  '09 

Killed 

49 

Normal 

497 

8-7-  '09 

Killed 

49 

Normal 

51 

1 

508 

8-9-  '09 

Killed 

40 

Normal 

509 

8-9-  '09 

Killed 

40 

Normal 

52 

1 

256 

2-4-  '09 

Killed 

52 

Normal 

257 

2-4-'09 

Killed 

52 

Normal 

2 

486 

8-6-  '09 

Killed 

39 

Normal 

487 

8-6-'09 

Killed 

39 

Normal 

3 

620 

9-18-  '09 

Killed 

60 

Normal 

53 

1 

84 

8-19-  '08 

Killed 

59 

Normal 

85 

8,19-  '08 

Killed 

59 

Normal 

2 

86 

8-19-  '08 

Died 

3 

Acute 

infection 

122 

9-2-  '08 

Killed 

63 

Normal 

3 

123 

9-2-  '08 

Killed 

63 

Normal 

124 

9-2-  '08 

Killed 

63 

Normal 

54 

1 

185 

12-29-  '08 

Killed 

54 

Normal 

186 

12-29-'08 

Killed 

54 

Normal 

2 

480 

8-6-  '09 

Killed 

39 

Normal 

481 

8-6-  '09 

Killed 

39 

Normal 

1 

3 

621 

8-18-  '09 

Killed 

60 

Normal 

622 

8-18-  '09 

Killed 

60 

Normal 

623 

8-18-  '09 

Killed 

60 

Normal 

55 

1 

684 

11-13-'09 

Died 

5 

Acute 

infection 

685 

11-13-'09 

Killed 

51 

Normal 

56 

1 

213 

12-31-'08 

Killed 

53 

Normal 

12-31-'08 

Killed 

53 

Normal 

2 

520 

8-9-  '09 

Killed 

44 

Normal 

521 

8-9-  'Q9 

Killed 

44 

Normal 

3 

527 

8-31-  '09 

Killed 

28 

Tuberculosis 

-)- 

+ 

-}—  j_ 

(superior 

inguinal) 

528 

8-31  -'09 

Killed 

28 

Tuberculosis 

_j- 

... 



(superior 

inguinal) 

4 

652 

10-4-  '09 

Killed 

53 

Normal 

653 

10-4-  '09 

Killed 

53 

Normal 

BULLETIN   No.   149 
TABLE  17 Continued 


[February, 


*  6 

s* 

V 

"a.  . 

££ 

rt  »H 
CO 

rt  6 
££ 

•33 

O  & 

Date  of 
inocula- 
tion 

Mode 
of 
death 

Days 
after 
inocu- 
lation 

Autopsy 

Micro- 
scopic 

Cultures 

Reinocu- 
lation 

56 

5 

678 

11-13-'09 

Died 

9 

Acute 

Organisms 

Organisms 

infection 

not  acid  fast 

not  acid  fast 

679 

11-13--09 

Killed 

51 

Normal 

6 

778 

8-16-  '10 

Killed 

80 

Slight 

+ 

+ 

++ 

tuberculosis 

779 

8-16-  '10 

Killed 

143 

Normal 

— 



— 

57 

1 

258 

2-4-  '09 

Killed 

52 

Normal 

259 

2-4-  '09 

Killed 

52 

Normal 

2 

484 

8-6-  '09 

Killed 

39 

Normal 

485 

8-6-  '09 

Killed 

39 

Normal 

3 

644 

9-22-  '09 

Killed 

57 

Normal 

645 

9-22-  '09 

Killed 

57 

Normal 

58 

1 

260 

2-4-  '09 

Killed 

52 

Normal 

261 

2-4-  '09 

Killed 

52 

Normal 

2 

518 

8-9-  '09 

Killed 

44 

Normal 

519 

8-9-  '09 

Killed 

44 

Normal 

59 

1 

262 

2-4-  '09 

Killed 

52 

Normal 

263 

2-4-  '09 

Killed 

52 

Normal 

2 

524 

8-9-  'C9 

Killed 

44 

Normal 

525 

8-9-  '09 

Killed 

44 

Normal 

60 

1 

234 

2-3-'09 

Killed 

51 

Normal 

235 

2-3-  '09 

Killed 

51 

Normal 

2 

500 

8-  7-  '09 

Killed 

41 

Normal 

501 

8-  7-  '09 

Killed 

41 

Normal 

63 

1 

514 

8-9-  '09 

Killed 

44 

Normal 

515 

8-9-  '09 

Killed 

44 

Normal 

64 

1 

215 

12-31-  '08 

Killed 

53 

Normal 

216 

12-31-  '08 

Killed 

53 

Normal 

2 

478 

8-6-  '09 

Killed 

39 

Normal 

479 

8-6-  '09 

Killed 

39 

Normal 

- 

3 

531 

8-31-  '09 

Killed 

28 

Normal 

532 

8-31-  '09 

Killed 

28 

Normal 

66 

1 

217 

12-31-  '08 

Killed 

53 

Normal 

\ 

218 

12-31-'09 

Killed 

53 

Normal 

2 

488 

8-6-  '09 

Killed 

39 

Normal 

489 

8-6-'09 

Killed 

39 

Ulcer  at  point 

Organisms 

Organisms 

of  inoculation 

not  acid  fast 

not  acid  fast 

(no  tubercles) 

67 

1 

264 

2-4-  '09 

Killed 

52 

Normal 

265 

2-4-  '09 

Killed 

52 

Normal 

2 

490 

8-6-  '09 

Killed 

38 

Normal 

491 

8-6-  '09 

Killed 

38 

Normal 

70 

1 

516 

8-9-  '09 

Killed 

44 

Normal 

517 

8-9-  '09 

Killed 

44 

Normal 

71 

1 

189 

12-29-  '08 

Killed 

54  • 

Normal 

12-29-'08 

Killed 

54 

Normal 

2 

482 

8-6-  '09 

Killed 

39 

Normal 

483 

8-6-'09 

Killed 

39 

Normal 

72 

1 

183 

12-29  '08 

Killed 

54 

Normal 

* 

184 

12-29-  '08 

Killed 

54 

Normal 

2 

476 

8-6-'09 

Killed 

39 

Normal 

477 

8-6-  '09 

Died 

10 

Acute 

Organisms 

infection 

net  acid  fast 

(no  tubercles) 

1911} 


TUBERCULOSIS  OF  FARM  ANIMALS 
TABL.E  1".  —  Continued 


383 


!* 

0) 

"H.  x 

I* 

02 

Guinea 
pig-  No. 

Date  of 
inocula- 
tion 

Mode 
of 
death 

Days 
after 
inocu- 
lation 

Autopsy 

Micro- 
scopic 

Cultures 

Reinocu 
lation 

72 

3 

529 

8-31--09 

Killed 

28 

Normal 

530 

8-31--09 

Died 

2 

Acute 

infection 

4 

547 

9-4-'09 

Killed 

39 

Normal 

548 

9-4-  '09 

Killed 

39 

Normal 

73 

1 

522 

8-9-  '09 

Killed 

44 

Normal. 

523 

8-  9-  '09 

Killed 

44 

Normal 

76 

1 

219 

12-31-'08 

Killed 

53 

Normal 

220 

12-31-  'OS 

Killed 

53 

Normal 

77 

1 

169 

12-28-  '08 

Killed 

54 

Normal 

170 

12-28-  '08 

Killed 

54 

Normal 

78 

1 

624 

9-  18-  '09 

Killed 

60 

Normal 

625 

9-18-  ;09 

Killed 

60 

Normal 

79 

1 

171 

12-28-  '08 

Killed 

54 

Normal 

172 

12-28-  '08 

Killed 

54 

Normal 

80 

1 

266 

2-4-  '09 

Killed 

52 

Normal 

267 

2-4-  '09 

Killed 

52 

Normal 

83 

1 

268 

2-4-  '09 

Killed 

52 

Gen.  tuber. 

+ 

+ 

++ 

269 

2-4-  '09 

Killed 

52 

Gen.  tuber. 

+ 

+ 

— 

89 

1 

510 

8-9-'09 

Killed 

40 

Normal 

511 

8-9-  '09 

Killed 

40 

Normal 

95 

1 

179 

12-29-  '08 

Killed 

54 

Normal 

No  acid- 

No  acid- 

180 

12-29-'08 

Killed 

24 

Tumor  on  liver 

fast   organ- 

fast  organ 

(No  tubercles.) 

isms 

isms 

104 

1 

236 

2-3-  '09 

Killed 

51 

Normal 

237 

2-3-  '09 

Killed 

51 

Normal 

109 

1 

494 

8-7-  '09 

Killed 

39 

Normal 

495 

8-7-'09 

Killed 

39 

Normal 

2 

667 

10-30-  '09 

Killed 

64 

Normal 

668 

10-30-  '09 

Died 

1 

Acute 

infection 

1002 

1 

221 

12-31-  '08 

Killed 

53 

Normal 

222 

12-31-  '08 

Killed 

53 

Normal 

1004 

1 

223 

12-31--08 

Killed 

53 

Gen.  tuber. 

+ 

+ 

+ 

224 

12-31-'08 

Killed 

S3 

Gen.  tuber. 

+ 

+ 

+ 

1007 

1 

238 

2-3-  '09 

Killed 

51 

Normal 

239 

2-3-  '09 

Killed 

51 

Normal 

1008 

1 

240 

2-3-'09 

Killed 

51 

Normal 

241 

2-3-  '09 

Killed 

51 

Normal 

1014 

1 

242 

2-3-  '09 

Killed 

50 

Normal 

243 

2-3-  '09 

Killed 

50 

Normal 

1017 

1 

244 

2-3-  '09 

Killed 

51 

Normal 

245 

2-3-  '09 

Killed 

51 

Normal 

J.H. 

1 

246 

2-3-  '09 

Killed 

51 

Normal 

247 

2-3-  '09 

Killed 

51 

Normal 

>.  H. 

1 

671 

10-30-  '09 

Died 

1 

Acute 

infection 

672 

10-30-  '09 

Died 

2 

Acute 

infection 

2 

676 

11-13-'09 

Died 

9 

Acute 

infection 

677 

11-13-'09 

Killed 

51 

Normal 

384 


BULLETIN   No.   149 
TABLE  17 — Continued 


[February, 


M 

0^ 

c 

2-0 

s» 

3D 

Guinea 
pig  No. 

Date  of 
inocula- 
tion 

Mode 
of 
death 

Da3's 

after 
inocu- 
lation 

Autopsj* 

Micro- 
scopic 

Cultures 

Reinocu- 
lation 

L.H. 

1 

669 

10-30-  '09 

Died 

1 

Acute 

infection 

670 

10-30-  '09 

Killed 

64 

Normal 

L.  B. 

1 

686 

11-15-'09 

Died 

13 

Acute 

infection 

687 

11-15-'09 

Died 

13 

Acute 

infection 

2 

710 

12-1-  '09 

Killed 

33 

Normal 

711 

12-1-'09 

Killed 

33 

Normal 

W.E 

1 

688 

11-15-'09 

Died 

13 

Acute 

infection 

689 

11-15-'09 

Died 

13 

Acute 

infection 

2 

708 

12-1-  '09 

Killed 

33 

Normal 

709 

12-1-  '09 

Killed 

33 

Normal 

S.  6. 

1 

690 

11-15-'09 

Died 

3 

Acute 

infection 

691 

11-15-  '09 

Died 

3 

Acute 

infection 

2 

702 

11-25-  '09 

Killed 

39 

Normal 

703 

ll-25-'09 

Killed 

39 

Normal 

F.  S. 

1 

692 

11-16-'09 

Killed 

49 

Normal 

693 

11-15-'09 

Killed 

49 

Normal 

O.S. 

1 

694 

11-15-'09 

Died 

6 

Acute 

infection 

695 

11-15-  '09 

Killed 

49 

Normal 

0.  C. 

1 

698 

11-11-'09 

Killed 

49 

Normal 

699 

11-15-'09 

Died 

4 

Acute 

infection 

B. 

1 

696 

11-15-  '09 

Killed 

49 

Normal 

697 

11-15-'09 

Killed 

49 

Normal 

C.E. 

1 

700 

11-15-  '09 

Died 

3 

Acute 

infection 

701 

11-15-'09 

Killed 

49 

Normal 

lesions  gave  staining,  culture  and  re  inoculation  tests  characteristic 
for  tubercle  bacilli.  There  has  been  at  irregular  times  a  number 
of  other  tests  for  tubercle  bacilli  in  the  feces  of  these  same  and  of 
other  cattle;  included  in  these  were  the  tests  of  eight  beef  cattle. 
Tubercle  bacilli  were  not  found  in  any  sample  in  these  tests.  The 
results  of  all  the  tests  are  shown  in  Table  17.  Altogether,  ninety- 
seven  samples  from  sixty-two  cattle  have  been  tested.  (For  Au- 
topsy records  of  these  cattle  see  Table  19.)  In  the  feces  of  three 
of  these,  or  (practically)  five  percent,  virulent  tubercle  bacilli  were 
present  at  the  time,  as  shown  by  guinea  pig  inoculation. 

There  is  given  in  Table  18  a  summary  and  com- 
parison of  the  microscopic  examination  and  ani- 
mal inoculation  test  for  tubercle  bacilli  in  the  feces 
of  reacting  cows.  From  this  summary  there  seems 
to  be  no  relation  between  the  presence  of  acid-fast 
organisms  found  on  a  microscopic  slide  and  the  presence  of  viru- 


COMPARISON 
WITH   THE 
MICROSCOPIC 
FINDINGS 


TUBERCULOSIS  OF  FARM  ANIMALS 


385 


lent  tubercle  bacilli  as  proved  by  guinea  pig-  inoculation.  Our  re- 
sults are  very  similar  to  those  of  Reynolds  and  Beebe5  and  of  Peters 
and  Emerson4.  They  are  unlike  the  results  of  Schroeder  and  Cot- 
ton* and  of  the  Royal  Commission  on  Tuberculosis  of  England.* 
The  latter  two  found  tubercle  bacilli  in  the  feces  in  a  much  higher 
percentage  of  tests.  The  percentage  of  positive  cases  that  Schroe- 
der and  Cotton  found  was  based  upon  microscopic  examination. 
However  they  demonstrated  by  guinea  pig  inoculation  that  cattle 
do  pass  virulent  tubercle  bacilli  in  their  feces.  The  six  cattle  tested 
by  the  Royal  Commission  and  possibly  also,  those  used  by  Schroe- 
der and  Cotton  are  not  comparable  in  respect  to  the  extent  of  in- 
fection to  the  large  herds  used  in  the  experiments  of  Reynolds  and 
Beebe,  Peters  and  Emerson,  and  ourselves.  We  take  it  that  the 
latter  three  herds  are  much  more  representative  of  the  tuberculous 
cattle  thruout  this  country.  More  work  must  be  done  before  final 
conclusions  are  reached. 

Whether  the  percentage  of  cattle  passing  virulent  tubercle  ba- 
cilli in  the  feces  is  relatively  large  or  relatively  small,  would  ap- 
pear to  depend  upon  the  general  condition  of  the  herd  and  the  stage 
of 'the  disease  in  its  individual  members.  Agricultural  Experiment 
Station  herds  are  probably  above  the  average  in  the  general  con- 
dition of  the  animals  and  in  freedom  from  emaciated  and  visibly 
diseased  individuals.  On  the  other  hand,  certain  selected  herds 

TABLE  18.— SUMMARY  AND  COMPARISON  OF  THE  MICROSCOPIC  EXAMINATION 

AND  ANIMAL  INOCULATION  TESTS  FOR  TUBERCLE  BACILLI  IN 

THE  FECES  OF  REACTING  Cows 


6 
2 

o 

O 

Results   with 
microscope 

Results   with 
guinea  pig 

Cow    No. 

Results   with 
microscope 

Results   with 
guinea  pig 

Posi- 
tive 

Nega- 
tive 

Posi-  1 
tive 

Nega- 
tive 

Posi- 
tive 

Nega- 
tive 

Posi- 
tive 

Nega- 
tive 

10 
12 
13 
15 
16 
19 
28 
29 
33 
35 
36 
37 
39 
41 
42 
47 
49 
51 
52 
53 

1 
1 

5 
1 

1 
1 

7 
1 
1 
1 

2 
0 
1 
1 
0 

1 
1 

0 
3 

2 

1 
2 
3 
0 
0 
0 
0 
4 
1 
3 
1 
2 
1    - 
1 
4 
1 
1 
2 

0 
0 

0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
0 

3 
1 

3 
1 
2 
1 
3 
2 
1 
1 
2 
2 
1 
2 
1 
1 
2 
1 
3 
2 

54 
55 
56 
57 
58 
59 
60 
61 
62 
63 
64 
66 
67 
70 
71 
72 
73 
76 
77 
78 

0 

2 
2 
1 
1 
0 
1 
0 

1 

1 

0 
0 
0 

1 

1 
1 

2 
1 
1 
1 

1 

2 

2 
0 
2 
1 
1 
^1 

0 
0 
2 
0 
0 
0 
0 

3 
1 
4 
3 

2 

2 

2 

0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
0 

1 

3 

2 
2 
1 
2 
4 
1 
1 
1 
1 

1 

•o 

0 

1 

386 


BULLETIN   No.   149 


[February, 


TABLE  18 — Continued 


6 
Z 
£ 

0 

O 

Results    with 
microscope 

Results   with 
animal  test 

Cow    No. 

Results   with 
microscope 

Results   with 
animal  test 

Posi- 
tive 

Nega- 
tive 

Posi- 
tive 

Nega- 
tive 

Posi- 
tive 

Nega- 
tive 

Posi- 
tive 

Nega- 
tive 

79 
80 
83 
86 
87 
89 
95 
97 
98 
104 
109 
1002 
1004 
1007 
1008 

0 

0 
1 

1 
1 

0 

1014 
1017 
Grade  heifer 
Small  heifer 
Large  heifer 
Lady  Britton 
Wild  Eyes 
Steer  650 
Flower  Strathmore 
Oxford  2d  steer 
Oxford  2d  cow 
Bull 
Columbia  11  (steer) 

Total 



0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
0 

1 
1 
1 
1 
1 
2 
2 
1 
1 
1 
1 
1 
1 

1 

2 
1 
2 

0 
1 
0 
1 

0 
1 
0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
0 

2 
0 

2 
2 
2 
2 

1 
1 
1 
1 

6 
0 

1 

1 

i 

i 

i' 

i 

0 
6 

0 
0 
0 
1 
0 
0 

1 
2 
1 
0 
1 
1 

52 

62 

4 

96 

TABLE  19.  —  POST-MORTEM  INSPECTION  OF  REACTING  CATTLE 


Cow 
No. 


Location  of  tuberculous  lesions 


(a)  Cattle  slaughtered  and  inspected  at  Urbana* 


10 

28 
36 

37 
42 
47 

49 

52 
53 
54 
56 

57 

58 

77 
86 
87 

97 


Bronchial  lymph  glands,  lungs,  liver,  ovary,  mesenteric  lymph 
glands  :  generalized  tuberculosis  :  condemned. 

Bronchial  and  mediastinal  lymph  glands. 

Lungs,  mesenteric  lymph  glands. 

Lungs,  mediastinal  lymph  glands. 

Lungs,  bronchial  lymph  glands. 

Heart,  intestine,  liver,  and  mesenteric  lymph  glands   :  generalized 
tuberculosis   :  condemned. 

Lungs,  bronchial  lymph  glands. 

Lungs. 

Retro-pharyngeal  and  inguinal  lymph  glands. 

Liver,  mediastinal  and  bronchial  lymph  glands. 

Lungs,  liver,  bronchial  and  mesenteric  lymph  glands  :  condemned. 

Liver,  guttural,  mediastinal,  and  bronchial   lymph  glands  :   con- 
demned. 

Large  omentum,  liver,  guttural,  mediastinal,  and  bronchial  lymph 
glands  :  condemned. 

Bronchial  lymph  glands. 

Bronchial  lymph  glands. 

Lungs,  pleura,  diaphragm,  liver,  mediastinal  and  bronchial  l3rmph 
glands  :  generalized  :  condemned. 

Lungs,  bronchial  lymph  glands  :  generalized  :  condemned. 


*We  are  indebted  to  the  Dairy  Department,  University  of  Illinois,  for 
the  opportunity  to  make  the  post-mortem  inspections  upon  the  cattle  slaugh- 
tered at  Urbana,  and  for  the  records  of  inspection  of  the  cattle  slaughtered 
at  Chicago,  except  for  the  last  eight  animals,  the  records  of  which  have  been 
furnished  by  the  Animal  Husbandry  Department. 


TUBERCULOSIS  OF  FARM  ANIMALS 


387 


TABLE  19.  —  Continued 


Cow 
No. 


Location  of  Tuberculous  lesions 


(b)  Cattle  slaughtered  and  inspected  at  Chicago.* 


12 
13 
15 
16 
19 
29. 
33 
39 
41 
51 

59 

60 

61 

64 

66 

67 

71 

72 

76 

79 

80 

83 

95 

104 

109 

1002 

1004 

1007 

1008 

1017 

G.H. 

L.H. 

S.H. 

L.B. 

W.E. 

S.6. 

F.  S. 

O.  S. 

O.  C. 

B. 
C.  S. 


Liver,  mediastinal  lymph  glands. 
Nothing  found. 
Mesenteric  lymph  glands. 

Lungs,  mediastinal,  bronchial,  and  meseiiteric  lymph  glands. 
Mediastinal  lymph  glands. 
Nothing  found. 
Nothing  found. 
Bronchial  lymph  glands. 

Retro-pharyngeal  and  mesenteric  lymph  glands. 
Lungs,  retro-pharyngeal  and  mesenteric  lymph  glands  :  con- 
demned. 

Parotid  and  mediastinal  lymph  glands. 
Bronchial  lymph  glands. 
Nothing  found. 

Retro-pharyngeal  lymph  glands. 

Lungs,  liver,  bronchial  and  mediastinal  lymph  glands. 
Nothing  found. 
Mediastinal  lymph  glands. 
Mesenteric  lymph  glands. 
Mediastinal  lymph  glands. 
Nothing  found. 

Bronchial  and  mediastinal  lymph  glands. 
Lungs,  bronchial  and  mediastinal  lymph  glands. 
Bronchial  lymph  glands. 

Retro-pharyngeal  and  mesenteric  lymph  glands. 
Non-tuberculous  abdominal  abscess. 
Lungs,  bronchial  and  mediastinal  lymph  glands. 
Lungs,  bronchial  and  mediastinal  lymph  glands. 
Bronchial  lymph  glands. 
Bronchial  and  mediastinal  lymph  glands. 
Lungs,  bronchial  and  mediastinal  lymph  glands. 
Nothing  found. 
Nothing  found. 
Bronchial  lymph  glands. 
Nothing  found. 
Nothing  found. 
Nothing^found. 
Nothing  found. 
Nothing  found. 
Nothing  found. 
Nothing  found. 
Nothing  found.  


*We  are  indebted  to  the  Dairy  Department,  University  of  Illinois,  for 
the  opportunity  to  make  the  post-mortem  inspections  upon  the  cattle 
slaughtered  at  Urbana,  and  for  the  records  of  inspection  of  the  cattle 
slaughtered  at  Chicago,  except  for  the  last  eight  animals,  the  records  of 
which  have  been  furnished  by  the  Animal  Husbandry  Department. 

may  be  much  worse  than  the  average.  It  is  important  to  point  out 
that  even  in  the  well-fed  and  apparently  healthy  herds,  which  have 
reacted  to  tuberculin,  some  animals  do  pass  tubercle  bacilli  in  the 
feces.  That  the  general  percentage  is  as  high  as  indicated  by  the 


388  BULLETIN   No.   149  [February, 

work  of  some  authors  does  not  seem  warranted  when  \ve  consider 
the  list  of  all  the  naturally  tuberculous  cows  that  have  been  proved 
by  guinea  pig  inoculation  to  be  passing  virulent  tubercle  bacilli  in 
their  feces.  This  list  comprises  sixteen  animals  as  follows : 

SCHROEDER  AND  COTTON, 

1.  Cow  No.  113 — Bad  advanced  tuberculosis.     Still   alive. 

2.  Cow  No.  373 — Generalized   tuberculosis   at  autopsy. 

3.  Cow  No.      i — Generalized  tuberculosis  at  autopsy 

4.  Cow  No.  552 — Still  alive  in  good  condition. 

REYNOLDS  AND  BEEBE, 

5.  Cow  No.  2l/2 — Generalized  tuberculosis  at  autopsy. 

PETERS  AND  EMERSON, 

6.  Cow  No.  102 — No  autopsy.     The  cow  was  poor  but  the  symptoms  of 
the  disease  were  not  marked.    The  number  of  acid-fast  bacilli  in  the  feces  as 
revealed  by  the  microscope  was  exceedingly  large.    In  every  field  a  number  of 
them  could  be  located,  and  in  one  place  an  area  of  degenerating  tissue  with 
many  bacilli  clinging  to  it  was  found. 

7.  Cow   No.  20 — Showed   no  sign  of   tuberculosis.     Her   feces   contained 
fairly  large  numbers  of  acid-fast  organisms.     No  autopsy. 

8.  Bull   No.  204 — Is  of  special  interest  because  of  his  exceptionally  fine 
appearance.    This    was    a    large    Aberdeen    Angus    bull,  ^remarkably    fat   and 
sleek.     However,  he  had  a  persistent  but  moderate  cough.     No  autopsy. 

ROYAL  COMMISSION  ON  TUBERCULOSIS,  ENGLAND,  • 

9.  Cow  B — Autopsy  showed  bad  generalized  tuberculosis. 

10.  Cow  C — Autopsy  showed  bad  generalized  tuberculosis. 

11.  Cow  A — Autopsy  showed  tuberculosis  of  intestine  and  lungs. 

12.  Cow  D — When  alive,   fat  and  in  good  condition.     Tuberculosis   could 
be  detected   only  by  tuberculin   test.    Autopsy   showed  large  tubercles   in  the 
lungs  and  bronchi. 

13.  Cow  F — Autopsy    showed    severe    generalized    tuberculosis,    apparently 
originating  in  the  alimentary  tract. 

NEW  CASES  IN  THIS  REPORT. 

14.  Cow    83 — Autopsy  showed  generalized  tuberculosis. 

14.  Cow  1004 — Autopsy  showed  tubercles  in  the  lungs  and  bronchial  lymph 
glands. 

16.  Cow  56 — Autopsy  showed  tubercles  in  the  lungs,  liver,  and  mesenteric, 
and  bronchial  lymph  glands. 

It  should  be  noted  that  of  these  16  cows,  that  have  been  shown 
by  guinea  pig  inoculation  to  be  passing  virulent  tubercle  bacilli  in 
their  feces,  the  eleven  slaughtered  were  very  badly  tuberculous. 
Every  one  of  the  eleven  showed  abscesses  of  the  lungs;  seven, 
ulcers  of  the  intestines ;  and  six,  tuberculosis  of  the  liver.  Every 
one  of  these  surely  should  have  been  condemned  at  slaughter.  Of 
the  animals  not  examined  post  mortem,  two  were  in  advanced 
stage  of  tuberculosis  and  three  in  apparently  good  condition.  The 
most  important  fact  to  be  noted  here  is  that  a  cow  may  be  in  an 
apparently  good  condition  and  yet  be  passing  tubercle  bacilli  in  her 
feces  which  will  produce  tuberculosis  in  guinea  pigs.  It  appears 


TUBERCULOSIS  OF  FARM  ANIMALS  389 

also  that  under  natural  conditions  a  cow  does  not  pass  virulent 
tubercle  bacilli  in  the  feces  unless  her  lungs,  intestines,  or  liver  are 
affected  with  open  tuberculosis.  But  this  can  -  not  be  ascertained 
from  the  outward  appearance  of  the  animal. 

CONCLUSIONS 

1.  Microscopic  tests  show  acid-fast  micro-organisms   in  the 
feces  of  non-reacting  as  well  as  of  cattle  reacting  to  the  tuberculin 
test. 

2.  Microscopic  tests  can  not,  in  all  cases,  be  depended  upon  to 
reveal  virulent  tubercle  bacilli  when  they  are  present. 

3.  By  guinea  pig  inoculations,  tubercle  bacilli  in  a  suspension 
of  fresh  cow  feces  can  be  detected  when  present  in  an  amount  as 
small  as  one  hundred  billionth  of  a  gram  in  the  dose  inoculated. 

4.  Reacting  cows  in  an  apparently  good  state  of  nutrition  may 
be  passing  virulent  tubercle  bacilli  in  such  quantities  that  one  cubic 
centimeter  of  a  two  percent    emulsion  of  their  feces  will  produce 
generalized  tuberculosis  in  guinea  pigs. 

5.  Under  ordinary  conditions  only  a  small  percentage  of  tuber- 
culous cattle  are  excreting  tubercle  bacilli  in  their  feces  at  any  given 
time. 

6.  At  this  Station,  ninety-seven  samples  of  feces  from  sixty- 
two  tuberculous  cattle  have  been  tested  for  tubercle  bacilli  by  in- 
oculation of  guinea  pigs.     Tubercle  bacilli  were  found  four  times 
in  samples  from  three  animals. 

REFERENCES 

1.  Bang1,   B.,   Measures   against  tuberculosis   in  Denmark.      Sixth 
Internat.  Cong,  on  Tuberculosis.     4.  part  2 :  863.     1908. 

2.  Calmette  et  Guerin,  Sur  1'evacuation  de  bacilles  tuberculeux  par 
la  bile  dans  1'intestin  chez  les  animaux  porteurs  de  lesions  latentes  ou 
occnltes.     Comp.  rend,  de  1'Acad.  des  Sci.  148:  601.     1909. 

3.  MacNeal,  Latzer  and  Kerr,  The  fecal  bacteria  of  healthy  men 
Jour,  of  Infect.  Dis.     6:  123-169.     1909. 

4.  Peters,  A.  T.  and  Emerson,  C.,  Dissemination  of  tuberculosis  by 
the  manure  of  infected  cattle.     Nebraska  Agr.  Exp.  Sta.  22d.  Ann. 
Rep.:  136-142.     1909. 

5.  Reynolds,  M.  H.,  and  Beebe,  W.  L.,  Dissemination  of  tubercu- 
losis by  the  manure  of  infected  cattle.     Univ.   of  Minn.  Agr.  Exp. 
Sta.  Bull.     103.     1907. 

6.  Royal  Commission  on  Tuberculosis  of  England,  3d.  Interim  Re- 
port. Ref.  Jour,  for  Comp.  Path,  and  Ther.  22:  77.     1909. 

7.  Schroeder,  E.  C.,  The  unsuspected  but  dangerously  tuberculous 
cow.    U.  S.  Dept.  Agr.,  Bureau  of  Animal  Industry,  Cir.  118,  1907. 


390  BULLETIN   No.   149  [February, 

8.  Schroeder,  E.  C.,  The  occurrence  and  significance  of  tubercle 
bacilli  in  the  feces  of  tuberculous  cattle.     Sixth.  Internat.  Cong,  on 
Tuber.  4,  part  2 :  599-606.     1908. 

9.  Schroeder,  E.  C.  and  Cotton,  W.  E.,  The  danger  from  tubercle 
bacilli  in  the  environment  of  tuberculous  cattle.     U.  S.  Dept.  Agr.. 
Bureau  of  Animal  Industry  Bull.  99.     1907. 

10.  Schroeder,   E.    C.   and   Mohler,  J.    R.,  The  tuberculin   test  of 
hogs  and  some  methods  of  their  infection  with  tuberculosis.     U.  S. 
Dept.  Agr.,  Bureau  of  Animal  Industry  Bull.  88.     1906. 

11.  Strasburger,  J.,  (I.)  Ein  Verandertes  Sedimentirungsverfaliren 
zum   mikroscopischen   Nachweis   von   Bacterien.      (II.)      Ueber   den 
Nachweis   von   Tuberkelbacillen   in   den   Feces.      Munchener.      med. 
Wchnschr.  47:  533-535-     1900. 

12.  Trueman,   John   M.,    Milk   supply   of   Chicago   and   twenty-six 
other  cities.     University  of  Illinois  Agr.  Exp.  Sta.  Bull.  120.     1907. 

TUBERCLE  BACILLI  IN  BLOOD  OF  TUBERCULOUS 

ANIMALS 

LITERATURE 

In  the  Tables  20,  21  and  22  giving  the  literature  upon  this  sub- 
ject two  methods  of  determining  the  presence  or  absence  of  tu- 
bercle bacilli  in  the  blood  are  contrasted,  that  of  bacterioscopy  and 
that  of  experimental  inoculation.  Calmette11  has  briefly  summarized 
the  bacterioscopic  methods  as  follows: 

"Bacterioscopy  is  the  direct  search  for  the  tubercle  bacillus  in 
the  juices  of  the  organism  or  in  the  blood.  It  must  be  regarded  as 
an  exceptional  method,  because,  even  in  the  case  of  sero-pleural 
effusions,  the  bacilli  are  discovered  at  the  most  in  two  percent  of 
the  cases  (Netter).  It  is  so  persistently  negative  in  the  case  of 
blood  that  there  is  nothing  gained  by  using  it  for  the  study  of  that 
fluid.  The  ingenious  method  of  indirect  bacterioscopy,  known, 
since  the  work  of  Jousset,  as  inoscopy,  in  which  the  blood  is  cen- 
trifugated  after  the  fibrin  has  been  artificially  digested  or  rendered 
incoagulable  by  means  of  various  procedures  (washing  \vith  soda, 
after  Bezangon,  Griffon  and  Philibert;  the  leech  method  of  Le- 
sieur),  is  so  delicate  in  its  application,  and  fraught  \vith  so  many 
errors  on  account  of  the  presence  of  other  acid-fast,  non-tubercu- 
lous bacilli,  that  its  results  cannot  be  interpreted  with  sufficient  ac- 
curacy for  clinical  purposes.  The  same  is  true  of  other  methods  of 
bacterioscopy.  based  on  a  previous  hemolysis  of  the  red  blood-cells 
(alcohol-hemolysis  of  Loeper  and  Louste,  hydrohemolysis  of  Nat- 
tan-Larrier  and  Bergeron).  At  the  beginning  of  a  tuberculous  in- 
fection the  bacilli  are  so  few  in  number  in  the  blood  and  in  serous 
exudates  that  there  is  no  possibility  of  finding  them  in  these  fluids." 


TUBERCULOSIS  OF  FARM  ANIMALS 


391 


Rosenberger  has  since  devised  a  modification  of  the  direct  bac- 
terioscopic  method,  the  essential  features  of  which  are  sedimenta- 
tion of  citrated  blood,  smearing  the  sediment  in  thick  layers  on 
slides  and  laking  the. hemoglobin  with  distilled  water  before  stain- 
ing for  tubercle  bacilli.  Uhlenhuth  and  Xylander47  have  employed 
"antiformin",  a  mixture  of  chlorinated  soda  and  caustic  soda,  to 
dissolve  the  blood  clot,  and  have  examined  the  sediment  of  the 
resulting  solution  for  tubercle  bacilli,  a  method  very  similar  in 
principle  to  that  of  Jousset.  Schnitter  has  first  laked  the  freshly 
drawn  blood  by  mixing  it  with  three  percent  acetic  acid  or  with 
three  percent  citric  acid.  The  washed  sediment  of  this  mixture 
was  then  digested  with  fifteen  percent  antiformin  solution.  The 
remaining  sediment,  very  minute-  in  quantity,  was  washed  with 
water  and  then  stained  and  examined  for  tubercle  bacilli.  None  of 
these  methods  of  bacterioscopy  is  so  delicate  as  that  of  animal  in- 
oculation. By  this  method  some  of  the  suspected  material  either 
without  special  preparation  or  after  treatment  by  some  of  the 
various  methods  given  above  is  injected  into  test  animals. 

Table  21  ''Tubercle  bacilli  in  blood  of  animals  injected  with 
pure  culture"  shows  that  some  of  the  results  of  each  author  quoted 
are  positive  by  the  animal  inoculation  test.  Of  the  three  authors 
giving  results  by  both  methods,  Anderson  has  wholly  negative  re- 
sults by  the  microscopic  test,  while  his  results  by  the  inoculation 
test  are  positive  in  sixty-six  and  two-thirds  percent  of  the  cases. 
Anderson,  also,  obtained  positive  culture  results  by  inoculating 
glycerine  potato  medium  with  the  blood  of  these  same  animals. 

TABLE  20.  —TUBERCLE  BACILLI  IN  THE  BLOOD  OP  MAN 


Microscopic  test 

Animal  inoculation  test 

0 

Author 

ri 

t» 

o> 

£ 

•M 

oo 
u 

> 

a 

A 

O 

Method 

m 
rf 

'5 

O 

05 

3 

o 

Remark 

O 

0 

V 

O 

0 

0) 

* 

a. 

PH 

1 

1884 

Direct    smear 

4 

4 

100 

Acute  cases 

-•> 

1884 

Direct    smear 

0 

0 

Chronic    cases 

from     dead 

body 

3 

1884 

Direct    smear 

8 

8 

100 

Acute    cases 

f  roni     dead 

body 

\ 

1884 

Direct    smear 

1 

1 

100 

Blood    taken 

during  life 

e. 

1884 

Direct    smear 

9 

4- 

9 

After    long 

search 

6 

Rutime3-er1".  .  .  . 

1885 

Direct    smear 

1 

1 

100 

Patient     just 

dead 

Sticker44     

188=; 

Direct    smear 

3 

3 

100 

8 

Sticker44 

188S 

Direct    smear 

1 

0 

0 

Made  80  prep- 

arations 

392 


BULLETIN   No.   149 


[February, 


TABLE  20. — Continued 


6 

a 

Author 

V 

"rt 
O 

Microscopic  test 

Animal  inoculation  test 

Method 

te 

V 

to 

3 

Q 

Positive 

Percent 

o 
•r. 

a 
O 

Positive 

Percent 

Remark 

1C 

11 

12 
13 

14 

IS 

1(> 

17 

is 
19 

20 

21 

22 

23 
24 

25 
26 
27 

2s 

2-> 
30 

31 
32 

33 

34 
35 
36 
37 

38 
39 

Bezancon5 
Griffon  and 
Philibert  

1903 
1904 

1904 
1904 
1904 

1905 
1906 
1908 
1909 

1909 
1909 

1909 
1909 
1909 

19C9 

1909 
1909 
1909 

1909 

1909 
1909 

1909 
1909 
1909 

1909 
1909 
1909 
1910 

1910 
1910 

1910 

Homogeni- 
sation 

Inoscopy 

Leech  method 
Alcohol- 
hemolysis 

Rosenberger 
Rosenberger 

Rosenberger 
Rosenberger 
Rosenberger 

7 

Rosenberger 

Rosenberger 
Rosenberger 

7 

Rosenberger 
Rosenberger 
Staubli 
technic  and 
Antiformiii 

Rosenberger 
Aiitiformiii 

7 

Rosenberger 

Rosenberger 
Rosenberger 

Rosenberger 

2 

2 

100 

35 

26 
35 
30 

11 

1 
3 
5 

31 

4 
14.3 
16.7 

Animal  experi- 
ment 
Guineapig  test 
Guinea  pig  test 
Guineapig  test 

Guineapig  test 
Suinea  pig  test 
Two  cases  pos- 
itive by  guin- 
ea pig  test 

[n  the  positive 
one,    guinea 
pig  inocula- 
tion failed 

Preliminary 
report 

Guineapig  test 
Guineapig  test 
Guineapig  test 

Animal  tests 

Guineapig  test 
Guineapig  test 

Bergeron8  

26 

0 

0 

Garv17.  . 

T        V            S2    

L/esieur      

30 

3 

300 

12 
20 

7 

8 

7 

10 

48 

18 

10 
17 

10 

7 

38 

22 
25 

7 

18 
56 

7 

51 

10 
0 

33.3 
0 

Loeper  and25 

L,udke26  

3 

1 

1 

3 
1 

6 

100 
100 

7 

0 

Huguenin19..    .. 
Rosenberger38.  .  . 

Forsyth1  4  

300 

10 
1 

0 
0 
0 

100 

83 
5 

0 
0 
0 

Rosenberg37  

Webb49  

Stoll45  

Miller30  
Brown8  

13 

10 
48 

50 

0 

0 

0 
20 

0 

0 
0 
40 

Bernstein4 
and  Fried  

0 

1 

0 

0 
0 

9 
0 

12 

0 
11 
0 
14 

5* 
0 

0 

2 

0 

0 
0 

90 
0 

21 

0 
44 
0 
78 

9 

•• 

0 

Anderson1  

Ljebermeister23.. 
Ravenel  and86 
Smith   

Burnham  and9 
L/yons  

17 

Dailey13  

0 

0 

Petty  and35 
Mendenhall  

Brem7  

Schnitter42  

Hewatt  and1  8 
Sutherland    .... 
L/ippmann24  
Tausig46  

? 

0 

0 

Foster15  

Buryille-1  ° 
Holmes  

37 

0 

0 

Clifford12  

White  and51 
Averj*  

47 

0 

0 

*The   author  considers  at  least  four  of  these   five    positive   results   to 
have  been  due  to  acid-fast  bacilli  in  the  distilled  water  used. 


I9H} 


TUBERCULOSIS  OF  FARM  ANIMALS 


393 


TABLE;  21. — TUBERCLE  BACILLI  IN  BLOOD  OF   ANIMALS  INJECTED  WITH  PURE  CULTURE  OK 

B.  TUBERCULOSIS 


6 
fc 

1 
2 

3 

4 

5 
(> 

7 

8 
9 

10 

11 
12 
13 

14 

Author 

1) 

4-1 

cd 

Q 

Animal 

Test  posi- 
tive after 
injection 

Microscopic  test 

Animal  inoculation  test 

Method 

to 
<u 

ID 

cd 
O 

Positive 

Percent 

Ol 
t) 

0) 

3 

O 

Positive 

Percent 

Remark 

Villemin48  
Baumgarten2  . 

Nocard33  .... 
Jeannel80 

1865 
1881 

1887 
1888 

1893 
1904 

1905 

1906 
1907 

1909 

1909 
1909 
1909 

1910 

Rabbit 
Rabbit 

Rabbit 
Rabbit 

Rabbit 
Rabbit 

Rabbit 

Dog 
G.  pig 

Rabbit 

Rabbit 
Rabbit 
Rabbit 

G.  pig 

4  hrs. 
7  days 

5  hrs. 
7  days 

9  days 

35  days 

4  to  6 
weeks 

27  days 

(?) 
(?) 
24  days 

46  days 

Hydro- 
hemolyses 

Rosenberger 

Inoscopy 
Rosenberger 

Rosenberger 

(?) 
(?) 

(?) 

7 

(?) 
4 

7 

(8) 
(231) 

6 

+ 
+ 

6 

2 
4 

+ 

+ 

4 

(?) 
(?) 

(?) 
85.7 

(?) 
50 

57 

(?) 
(?) 

66 

Blood  from   fem- 
oral vein 
Generalized      tu- 
berculosis   in 
the  rabbit 
Avian  culture 
Subcutaneous  in- 
oculationsof  tis- 
sues 

Obtained    sample 
by  heart  punc- 
ture;     injected 
into    ear    vein. 
First  to   obtain 
(potato)cultures 

Sample   from  ca- 
rotid into  guinea 
pigs 
Animal     injected 
in  various  ways; 
sample       taken 
by  heart  punc- 
ture   and   from 
vessels 
Tested  by  guinea 
pig  inoculation 
and  by  culture 
on  potato 

Animal     injected 
intravenously; 
sample       taken 
from        carotid 
and   femoral 

Sample   of    heart 
blood 

Gaertner16.  .  .  . 
Bergeron3  .  .  . 
Nattan-L/arrier 
&  Bergeron32  . 

Neumann    and 
Wittgenstein34 

Marmorek28  .  . 

Anderson1  .  .  . 
Webb49    

10 

9 

9 

7 

(?) 
(?) 

0 
0 

0 

(?) 
0 

Webb49      

100 
100 

Bongert6  .... 

White  and 
Avery  5  '   

6 

1 

6 

1 

23 

1 

1 

100 

Total  

18 

10 

55.5 

31 

74.2 

In  regard  to  the  relative  reliability  of  the  two  methods,  most 
authorities  hesitate  to  accept  the  results  of  mere  microscopic  ex- 
amination unless  these  have  been  carefully  compared  with  the  re- 
sults of  animal  inoculation.  They  all  regard  animal  inoculation 
as  an  essential  part  of  any  absolutely  reliable  procedure  for  identi- 


394 


BULLETIN   No.   149 


[February, 


fying  tubercle  bacilli.  Brem  has  called  attention  to  the  occurrence 
of  acid- fast  bacteria  in  laboratory  distilled  water  as  a  prominent 
source  of  error  in  Rosenberger's  method  and  this  finding  has  been 
confirmed  by  Burville-Holmes.  One  should  be  very  guarded  in 
accepting  the  results  of  bacterioscopy.  Animal  inoculation  itself 
is  not  free  from  chances  of  error,  such  as  natural  or  accidental  tu- 
berculous infection  and  pseudo-tuberculous  changes,  but  these  er- 
rors have  been  guarded  against  in  most  of  the  published  work  and 
the  results  are  correspondingly  more  reliable. 

Table  20  shows  a  total  of  800  cases  tested  by  the  microscopic 
method  with  393  or  49  percent  positive,  and  a  total  of  341  cases 
tested  by  animal  inoculation  with  44  or  12.9  percent  positive.  This 
percentage  of  positive  cases  as  shown  by  microscopic  test  compared 
to  the  percentage  of  positive  cases  as  revealed  by  animal  inocula- 
tion test  has  no  special  significance  unless  it  be  to  point  out  the 
likelihood  of  error  in  the  former  method.  From  the  results  given 
it  is  quite  evident  that  tubercle  bacilli  do  circulate  at  times  in  the 
blood  of  man.  The  results  in  Table  21  show  that  when  pure  cul- 
tures of  tubercle  bacilli  are  injected  directly  or  indirectly  into  the 
circulating  blood  they  may  remain  in  the  blood  for  some  days  in 
quantities  large  enough  to  infect  guinea  pigs.  Here  it  is  noted 
that  the  percentage  of  positive  findings  is  much  larger  as  would  be 
expected.  It  is  also  noted  that  the  percentage  of  positive  findings 
for  the  animal  inoculation  tests  is  larger  than  the  percentage  for 
the  microscopic  tests  upon  the  same  samples  of  blood.  Table  22 
indicates  that  the  tubercle  bacilli  have  been  found  in  the  circulating 
blood  of  naturally  tuberculous  cattle  by  only  one  observer. 

TABLE  22 — TUBERCLE  BACILLI  IN  THE  BLOOD  OF  CATTLE 


1 

Author 

o> 
-*j 
rt 

Q 

Microscopic    test 

Animal  inoculation  test 

Method 

t« 
<u 

01 

rt 
O 

Positive 

Percent 

•r. 

0 

•r. 

a 

O 

Positive 

Percent 

Remark 

1 

2 

3 
4 

Bongert6  

1909 

1909 
1909 
1909 

Rosenberger.  . 
Rosenberger.  . 
Rosenberger.  . 

11 

42 
8 
21 

7 

0 
0 

0 

64 

0 
0 
0 

Rabbits    and 
guinea    pigs 
inoculated 

Guineapigtest 
Guinea  pig  test 
Guineapigtest 

Schroeder43 
and  Cotton  
Mohler81  
Sawyer4  1  

42 
8 
21 

0 
0 
0 

0 
0 
0 

TUBERCULOSIS  OF  FARM  ANIMALS 


395 


INSTRUMENTS 
USED    IN 
COLLECTING 
SAMPLES 


EXPERIMENTAL  WORK  ON  CATTLE 

The  apparatus  used  for  collecting  the  blood  of  the 
cows  consists  of  a  small  flask  holding  75  cubic 
centimeters.  (See  Fig.  4).  To  this  flask  is 
fitted  a  rubber  stopper  thru  which  two  glass  tubes 
pass.  To  one  of  the  glass  tubes  is  attached  a  piece 
of  small  rubber  tubing  about  eight  inches  long  which  holds  a  large 
syringe  needle  (lumen  0.5  mm)  ;  the  other  glass  tube  is  plugged 
with  cotton.  This  latter  serves  as  an  escape  for  the  air  as  the 
blood  flows  in.  In  the  flask  were  placed  25  cc.  of  one  percent 
sodium  citrate  in  0.8  percent  salt  solution.  This  solution  when 
mixed  with  an  equal  quantity  of  blood  prevented  the  clotting  for 
a  number  of  hours. 


The  cow  was  haltered  and  held  by  an  assistant  or 
tied  to  the  stall.     Her  hind  legs  were  tied  together 
to  prevent  kicking  or  jumping.     The  blood  was 
taken  from  the  large  udder  vein.     From  this  vein  the  sample  was 


TAKING   THE 
SAMPLE 


FIG.  4.  FLASK  FOR  COLLECTING  BLOOD  SAMPLES. 


396 


BULLETIN   No.   149 


[February, 


procured  with  little  difficulty  and  it  is  much  more  convenient  than 
the  jugular,  ear,  or  leg  vein,  each  of  which  was  tried.  The  udder 
vein  is  better  because  it  is  large,  prominent,  and  more  easily  punc- 
tured, and  also  because  the  cow,  to  move  away  from  the  operator, 
must  move  her  whole  body,  while  a  vein  on  the  head  or  leg  is  very 
much  more  easily  jerked  'away.  Frequently  the  udder  vein  could 
be  punctured  without  any  evidence  of  discomfort  on  the  part  of 
the  cow. 

The  skin  over  the  vein  just  in  front  of  the  udder  was  thoroly 
scrubbed  and  the  hair  shaved  from  a  small  area.  A  spot  the  size 
of  a  dime  in  this  shaven  area  was  cauterized  with  strong  (95  per- 
cent) carbolic  acid.  This  was  allowed  to  dry  for  a  minute  or  two. 
The  cauterization  not  only  disinfects  but  also  anesthetizes  the 
skin.  The  milk  vein  was  grasped  in  one  hand  and  the  syringe 
needle  first  pushed  thru  the  skin  and  then  a  little  way  from  this 
opening  pushed  thru  the  wall  of  the  vein.  Abundant  and  rapid 
flow  of  blood  was  obtained,  and  this  was  mixed  with  the  citrate 
solution  by  rotating  the  flask.  As  soon  as  a  sufficient  amount  of 
blood  had  been  obtained  the  needle  was  withdrawn  and  the  vein 


FlG.  5.    SPECIAL;  CENTRIFUGE  TUBE,  BEFORE  AND  AFTER  SEALING. 


TUBERCULOSIS  OF  FARM  ANIMALS 


397 


TESTING   THE 
SAMPLE 


compressed  for  a  minute  at  this  place  to  prevent  further  loss  of 
blood.  The  carbolic  acid  was  then  washed  off  from  the  skin  with 
95  percent  alcohol.  This  operation  of  taking  the  blood  has  in  our 
experience  produced  no  injurious  effect  upon  the  cows  at  any  time. 

The  blood  sample  as  soon  as  taken  was  well  mixed 
with  the  sodium  citrate  solution  and  after  bringing 
it  to  the  laboratory  ten  cubic  centimeters  were  put 
into  a  test  tube  and  placed  in  the  ice  box  for  twenty-four  hours.' 
The  sediment  from  this  portion  was  stained  by  Rosenberger's 
method.  Twelve  samples  from  eight  cows  examined  by  this  method 
gave  always  negative  results.  Of  the  remaining1  portion  of  the 

TABLE  23 — TESTING  THE  BLOOD  OF  TUBERCULOUS  CATTLE  FOR 
TUBERCLE  BACILLI 


4-1 

Animal  inoculation  test 

Microscopic     test 

6 

t/J 

0) 

bet 

0 

VH    g 

V 

V- 

4-> 

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Jj 

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MH  "^* 

^f 

cc  ^ 

ft 

o 

<4-t 
0 

if 

D   <^ 

4->     jj 

°J 

•cd  f^ 

tf)   3 

Autopsy 

•c.i 

a^l 

o 

6 

C  3 

/5  o 

S  «H 

>%0 

~TH    "^ 

<u       t 

& 

•3  c 

P    0 

O 

rt  o 

§      ^ 

$     6 

0 

"«H 

_*!£. 

° 

K 

10 

1 

583 

9-10-  '09 

Killed 

61 

Normal 

0 

0 

584 

9-10-  '09  . 

Killed 

61 

Normal 

0 

0 

2 

610 

9-16-  '09 

Killed 

62 

Normal 

0 

0 

611 

9-16-  '09 

Killed 

62 

Normal 

0 

0 

37 

1 

585 

9-ll-'09 

Killed 

61 

Normal 

0 

0 

586 

9-ll-'09 

Killed 

61 

Normal 

0 

0 

2 

631 

9-18-  '09 

Killed 

60 

Normal 

0 

0 

52 

1 

608 

9-15-'09 

Killed 

59 

Normal 

0 

0 

x 

609 

9-15-  '09 

Killed 

59 

Normal 

0 

0 

54 

1 

587 

9-1  3-  '09 

Killed 

57 

Normal 

0 

0 

57 

1 

596 

9-14-  '09 

Killed 

59 

Normal 

0 

0 

597 

9-14-  '09 

Killed 

59 

Normal 

0 

0 

2 

612 

9-16-  '09 

Killed 

62 

Normal 

0 

0 

613 

9-16-  '09 

Killed 

62 

Normal 

0 

0 

58 

1 

598 

9-14-'09 

Killed 

59 

Normal 

0 

0 

599 

9-14-'09 

Killed 

59 

Normal 

0 

0 

2 

630 

9-18-  '09 

Killed 

60 

Normal 

0 

0 

Flower 

Strath- 

1 

704 

ll-25-'09 

Killed 

39 

Normal 

0 

0 

more 

705 

ll-25-'09 

Killed 

39 

Normal 

0 

0 

Oxford 

1 

706 

11-25-  '09 

Killed 

60 

Normal 

0 

0 

2d 

707 

11-25-  '09 

Killed 

60 

Normal 

0 

0 

sample  about  40  cc.  was  transferred  to  twro  specially  prepared 
centrifuge  tubes  shown  in  Figure  5,  by  means  of  a  Pasteur  bulb 
pipette.  These  tubes  were  then  hermetically  sealed  in  the  flame. 
The  blood  in  the  tubes  was  then  centrifuged  for  30  minutes  at 
2200  revolutions  per  minute.  The  capillary  tip  was  then  broken 
off,  the  opening  flamed  and  the  clear  supernatant  liquid  pipetted  off 
and  discarded.  To  the  sediment,  consisting  chiefly  of  blood  cor- 
puscles, sterile  distilled  water  was  added  by  means  of  a  Pasteur 
bulb  pipette.  The  tubes  were  again  sealed  in  the  flame,  the  con- 


398  BULLETIN   No.   149  [February, 

tents  thoroly  mixed,  and  again  centrifuged.  In  this  way  the  hemo- 
globin was  dissolved  out  of  the  red  blood  corpuscles  and  removed 
in  the  supernatant  liquid,  while  the  sediment,  consisting  of  red 
blood  cell  stroma,  white  blood  cells  and  possibly  bacteria,  became 
colorless  and  small  in  quantity.  After  repeated  washing  with  sterile 
distilled  water  (always  with  the  aid  of  the  centrifuge)  the  sedi- 
ment was  obtained  as  a  tough,  gelatinous,  colorless  mass.  We  con- 
sider this  technic  of  special  importance  because  by  its  use  the  bac- 
teria contained  in  a  very  considerable  quantity  of  blood  may  be 
concentrated  into  a  very  small  volume  and  separated  from  the 
hemoglobin  and  the  liquid  portion  of  the  original  blood,  constituents 
which  are  likely  to  interfere  with  further  steps  in  testing  for  bac- 
teria. Moreover,  by  this  technic  properly  carried  out,  contamina- 
tion by  microorganisms  from  any  other  source  may  be  absolutely 
excluded.  A  small  part  of  this  material  was  smeared  on  slides  and 
stained  for  acid-fast  bacilli,  and  the  remainder  injected  into  two 
guinea  pigs. 

The  results  of  the   microscopic   examination   and 

KtoULIo  ...  1       .  (-111         MI*     • 

animal  inoculation  tests  for  tubercle  bacilli  in  the 
circulating  blood  of  cattle  reacting  to  tuberculin  are  given  in  Table 
23.  The  blood  of  eight  cattle  was  tested  for  tubercle  bacilli,  four  of 
them  once  and  four  of  them  twice.  Six  cows,  Nos.  10,  37,  54,  57, 
58,  and  52,  were  from  the  dairy  herd,  and  their  autopsy  records  are 
given  in  Table  19.  The  other  two,  Flower  Strathmore  and  Oxford 
the  Second,  were  from  the  beef  cattle  herd  and  their  autopsy  rec- 
ords are  given  in  Table  19,  F.  S.  and  O.  S.  Eighteen  guinea  pigs 
were  inoculated  with  centrifuge  sediment.  All  of  them  survived  un- 
til chloroformed  for  examination.  None  became  tuberculous.  Every 
sample  was  tested  microscopically  by  staining  the  centrifuged  sedi- 
ment and  by  staining  the  sediment  after  the  Rosenberger  method 
as  previously  described.  In  no  case  were  any  acid-fast  organisms 
found. 

CONCLUSIONS 

1.  At  present  the  results  of  the  different  investigators  in  re- 
gard to  the  detection  of  tubercle  bacilli  in  the  circulating  blood  are 
conflicting. 

2.  This  difference  is  probably  due  in  part  to  the  methods  used. 
If  larger  quantities  of  blood  are  used  for  the  sample  injected  into 
animals,  as  was  done  by  Liebemieister  in  detecting  tubercle  bacilli 
in  the  blood  of  man,  or  by  Bongert  in  detecting  the  tubercle  bacilli 
in  the  blood  of  cattle,  a  larger  percent  of  positive  findings  would  be 
expected,  as  was  the  case  with  these  authors. 

3.  Rosenberger's  contention  that  tubercle  bacilli  are  frequently 
found  in  the  blood  by  microscopic  test  has  not  been  confirmed  by 


TUBERCULOSIS  OF  FARM  ANIMALS  399 

other  workers,  and  it  is  very  probable  that  his  results  are  largely 
erroneous. 

4.  As  a  diagnostic  procedure  the  examination  of  the  blood  for 
tubercle  bacilli  is  of  little  value. 

5.  Tubercle  bacilli  may  undoubtedly  circulate  in  the  blood  of 
man  and  animals,  at  times  in  large  numbers.     Whether  they  do 
frequently  so  circulate  in  very  small  numbers  and  how  often  they 
are  likely  to  do  so,  is  still  unsettled. 

6.  In  the  circulating  blood  of  tuberculous  cattle,  tubercle  ba- 
cilli have  been  found  by  good  investigators,  but  their  occurrence 
here  would  appear  to  be  rather  infrequent.     In  our  own  tests  the 
results  were  wholly  negative,  but  it  should  be  remembered  that  the 
cattle  tested  were  not  in  an  advanced  stage  of  tuberculosis. 

REFERENCES 

1.  Anderson,  J.  F.,  The  presence  of  tubercle  bacilli  in  the  circulat- 
ing blood  in  clinical  and  experimental  tuberculosis.     U.S.  Hyg.  Lab. 
Bull.  57:  7-23.    Sept.  1909. 

2.  Baumgarten,  Cited  by  Liebermeister. 

3.  Bergeron,  A.,  Etude  critique  sur  la  presence  du  bacille  de  Koch 
dans  le  sang.     Paris  These  1903-1904:  1-94. 

4.  Bernstein  and  Fried,  Ten  cases  of  tuberculosis  without  tubercle 
bacilli  in  the  blood.     (N.  Y.  Med.  Jour.  May  29,  1909:  1097.)     Cited 
by  White  and  Avery. 

5.  Bezangon,  F.,  Griffon,  V.,  et  Philibert,  Recherche  du  bacille  tu- 
berculeux  dans  le  sang  par  homogenisation  du  caillot.     Compt.  rend. 
Soc.  de  Biol.  55:  35-37.     1903. 

6.  Bongert,  J.,  Untersuchungen  iiber  den  Tuberkelbacillengehalt  des 
Blutes,  des   Fleisches  und   der   Lymphdriisen   tuberkuloser     Schlach- 
thiere.     Arch.  f.  Hyg.  69:  263-368.     1909. 

7.  Brem,  W.  V.,  Investigations  of  blood  for  tubercle  bacilli.    Jour. 
Am.  Med.  Assoc.  53:  909-911.     1909. 

8.  Brown,  Discussion.     Report  of  the  5th  Ann.   Meeting  of  the 
National  Association  for  the  Study  and  Prevention  of  Tuberculosis, 
Washington,  D.  C.,  1909:  213. 

9.  Burnham  and  Lyons,  Tuberculosis — a  bacteriemia  ?     Jour.  Am. 
Med.  Assoc.  53:  731.     1909. 

10.  Burville-Holmes,  E.,   A   study   of  the   alleged  presence  of  tu- 
bercle bacilli  in  the  circulating  blood.     Amer.  Jour.  Med.   Sci.  139: 
99-105,  April  9,  1910. 

11.  Calmette,  A.,  On  the  modern  procedures   for  the  early  diag- 
nosis of  tuberculous    infection.     Sixth  Internat.  Cong,  on  Tubercu- 
losis Special  vol. :  65-79.     1908. 

12.  Clifford,  Are  acid- fast  bacteria  other  than  the  tubercle  bacillus 
commonly  met  in  clinical  laboratory  work?     (N.  Y.  Med.  Jour.  April 
9,  1910:  740.)     Cited  by  White  and  Avery. 


400  BULLETIN  No.   149  [February, 

13.  Dailey,  On  the  presence  of  tubercle  bacilli  in  the  blood  in  tu- 
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Cited  by  White  and  Avery. 

14.  Forsyth,  The  occurrence  of  tubercle  bacilli  in  the  blood  in  tu- 
berculosis.    (Brit.  Med!  Jour.  April  24,  1909:  1001.)     Cited  by  White 
and  Avery. 

15.  Foster,  G.  B.,  The  presence  of  acid-alcohol-resisting  bacilli  in 
the  blood.     (Mil.  Surg.  Wash.  26:   194-214.    Feb.  1910.)     Cited  by 
White  and  Avery. 

1 6.  Gartner,  A.,  Ueber  die  Erblichkeit  der  Tuberculose.     Ztschr. 
f.  Hyg.  13:  101-250.     1893. 

17.  Gary,  Bacille  de  Koch  dans  le  sang.    (These  de  Lyon.     1905.) 
Cited  by  Liebermeister. 

1 8.  Hewatt,  A.  M.  and  Sutherland,  H.  G.,  On  the  determination  of 
the  tubercle  bacillus  in  the  blood  of  persons  suffering  from  phthisis. 
Centralb.  f.  Bakt.  Abt.  I  Ref.  46:  28-29.     1910. 

19.  Huguenin,  Nachweis  von  Tuberkelbacillen  im  Blute  eines  Foe- 
tus.    Centralb.  f.  Bakt.  Abt.  I  Orig.  48:  394-396.     1908. 

20.  Jeannel,  (Congress  de  la  tuberculose,  1888.)     Cited  by  Berg- 
eron. 

21.  Jousset,  A.,  Cited  by  Liebermeister. 

22.  Lesieur,  Ch.,  Recherche  directe  des  microbes  dans  le  sang  (du 
bacille  de  Koch  en  particulier)  par  le  precede  de  la  sangsue.    Tour,  de 
Phys.  et  de  Path.  Gen.  6:  875-883.     1904. 

23.  Liebermeister,  G.,   Studien  iiber  Komplikationen  der  Lungen- 
tuberkulose  und  iiber  die  Verbreitung  der  Tuberkelsbazillen  in  den  Or- 
ganen  und  in  Blut  der  Phthisiker.     Virchows  Archiv    197:  332-425. 
1909. 

24.  Lippmann,  A.,  Zum  Nachweis  der   Tuberkelbacillen   im   stro- 
menden   Blute   der   Phthisiker.      Miinchen   med.   Wschr.      56-part   2 : 
2214.     Oct.  26,  1909. 

25.  loeper,  Ik  et  Louste,  A.,  Recherche  des  microbes  et  des  elements 
cancereux  circulant  dans  le  sang  par  1'hemolyse  artificielle  immediate. 
Archives  de  Med.  Exper.  et  Anat.  Path.  17:  301-315.     1905. 

26.  "Xiidke,    (Wien.  klin.  Wschr.,   1906:  949.)      Cited  by  Lieber- 
meister. 

27.  Lustig,   (Wien.  med.  Wschr.,  1884:   1429.)    Cited  by  Lieber- 
meister. 

28.  Marmorek,  A.,  Beitrag    zur  Kentniss  der  tuberkulosen   Septi- 
kamie.     Berliner  klin.  Wschr.  44:  18-20.    Jan.  7,  1907. 

29.  Meisels,  (Wien.  med.  Wschr.,  1884:  1159.)     Cited  by  Lieber- 
meister. 

30.  Miller,  Discussion.     Report  of  the  5th  Annual  Meeting  of  the 
National  Association  for  the  Study  and  Prevention  of  Tuberculosis, 
Washington,  D.  C. :  215.     1909. 

31.  Mohler,  Reported  by  Schroeder  and  Cotton. 


TUBERCULOSIS  OF  FARM   ANIMALS  401 

32.  Nattan-Larrier  et  Bergeron,  L'hydrohemolyse  et  la  recherche 
des  bacilles  de  Koch  dans  le  sang  (Etude  experimentale).     Jour,  de 
Phys.  et  Path.  Gen.  7:  1028-1035.     1905. 

33.  Nocard,    (Congress   de  la  tuberculose    1888:    53.)      Cited   by 
Bergeron  and  Bongert. 

34.  Neumann  und  Wittgenstein,  Das  Verhalten  der   Tuberkelba- 
zillen    in    den    verschiedenen    Organen    nach    intravenoser    Injektion. 
(Wien.  klin.  Wschr.  1906:  858.)  ~  Cited  by  Bongert. 

35.  Petty  and  Mendenhall,  Tubercle  bacilli  in  the  blood.     Jour. 
Am.  Med.  Assoc.  53:  867.     1909. 

36.  Ravenel,  M.  P.  and  Smith,  K .  W  .,  The  presence  of  tubercle 
bacilli  in  the  circulating  blood.     Jour.  Am.   Med.  Assoc.   53:    1915, 
1909. 

37.  Rosenberg,  L.,  Report  of  twenty  cases  of  pulmonary  tubercu- 
losis without  bacilli  in  the  blood.      (Med.   Record,  76:  818.     Nov. 
13,  1909.)     Cited  by  White  and  Avery. 

38.  Rosenberger,  R.  C.,  The  presence  of  tubercle  bacilli  in  the  cir- 
culating blood  in  tuberculosis.     Am.  Jour.  Med.  Sci.  137:  267.     1909. 

39.  Rosenberger,  R.  C.,  The  laboratory  methods  of  diagnosis  in 
tuberculosis.     Report  of  the  Fifth  Annual  Meeting  of  the  National 
Association  for  the  Study  and  Prevention  of  Tuberculosis,  Washing- 
ton, D.  C. :  204.     May,  1909. 

40.  Rutimeyer,  (Zentralbl.  f.  inn.  Med.  6:  No.  21.     1885.)     Cited 
by  Liebermeister. 

41.  Sawyer,  W.  A.,  Tubercle  bacilli  in  the  blood.     Arch.  Int.  Med. 
4:  628-638.     1909. 

42.  Schnitter,   Nachweis   und   Bedeutung  der  Tuberkelbazillen   in 
stromenden    Phthisikerblut.     Dtsche.    med.    Wschr.    35:     1566-1569. 
Sept.  9,  1909. 

43.  Schroeder  and  Cotton,  Tests  concerning  tubercle  bacilli  in  the 
circulating   blood.      U.    S.    Dept.    Agr.    Bureau    of    Animal    Industry 
Bull.   116.     1909. 

44.  Sticker,  G.,    (Zentralbl.   f.   inn.   Med.   6:  443.      1885.)      Cited 
by  Liebermeister. 

45.  Stoll,  H.  F.,  Discussion.     Report  of  the  Fifth  Annual  Meeting 
of  the  National  Association  for  the  study  and  Prevention  of  Tuber- 
culosis, Washington,  D.  C. :  213.     May  14,  1909,- 

46.  Tausig,  Presence  of  tubercle  bacilli  in  the  blood  in  tubercu- 
losis.    (Interstate  Med.  Jour.  Oct.  19091.)     Ref.  Jour.  Am.  Med.  As- 
soc. 53:  20,  1694.     1909. 

47.  ITlilenhuth   und    Xylander,      Antiformin,      ein      bakterienauf- 
losendes  Desinfektionsmittel.     Berliner  klin.     Wschr.     45:   1346-1349. 
July  20,  1908. 

48.  Villemin,  (Lecons  sur  la  tuberculose.     1868.)     Cited  by  Ber- 
geron. 


402  BULLETIN   No.   149  [February, 

49.  Webb,  G.  B.,  Discussion.     Report  of  the  Fifth  Annual  Meet- 
ing of  the  National  Association  for  the  Study  and  Prevention  of  Tu- 
berculosis, Washington,  D.  C. :  212.    May,  1909. 

50.  Weichselbaum,  (Wien.  med.    Wschr.,    1884:    334.)      Cited   by 
Liebermeister. 

51.  White,  B.  and  Avery,  0.  F.,  Concerning  the  bacteriemic  the- 
ory of  tuberculosis.    Jour.  Med.  Research,  23:  95-105.     1910. 

PUBLIC  HEALTH  RELATIONS 

IMPORTANCE  Tuberculosis  is  the  most  serious  disease  of  both 
OF  HUMAN  men  and  domestic  animals.  The  report  of  the 

TUBERCULOSIS  Bureau  of  Census,  1907,  showed  11.2  percent  of 
all  human  deaths  to  be  due  to  this  disease.  In  that 
year  there  were  200,000  deaths  from  tuberculosis  in  the  United 
States.  In  Illinois  the  percentage  of  deaths  from  tuberculosis  ap- 
pears to  be  slightly  higher  than  in  the  United  States  as  a  whole,, 
being  recorded  as  11.49  percent  of  the  deaths  from  all  causes. 
Human  tuberculosis  appears  to  be  decreasing  slightly,  but  among 
the  food  producing  animals,  on  the  other  hand,  there  is  an  in- 
crease in  the  amount  of  this  disease. 

Smith6  has  estimated  that  about  one  percent    of 

POSSIBILITY  r    ,  ,    i         , 

cases  of  human  tuberculosis  are  due  to  tubercle 

OF  HUMAN   IN-      ,       „,.  ^.,  .        2 

FECTION  WITH  bacilli  of  the  bovine  type.  Fibiger  says  that,  ac- 
THE  BOVINE  cording  to  the  summary  of  figures  published  in 
BACILLUS  the  last  few  years  from  some  of  the  hospitals  of 

Kiel,  Berlin,  and  Copenhagen,  about  five  percent 
of  all  the  children  that  come  to  autopsy  are  affected  with  primary 
bovine  intestinal  tuberculosis.  Park  and  Krumwiede5  found,  in 
an  examination  of  435  cases  of  tuberculosis,  32,  or  7.4  percent, 
caused  by  tubercle  bacilli  of  the  bovine  type.  In  adults  over  16 
years  of  age  only  one  case  of  the  297  examined  was  caused  by  the 
bovine  bacillus;  while  in  children  between  the  ages  of  5  and  16 
years,  nine  out  of  54;  and  in  children  under  five  years  of  age,, 
twenty-two  out  of  a  total  of  84  cases  examined,  or  26.2  percent/ 
were  found  to  be  caused  by  the  bovine  type  of  tubercle  bacillus. 
In  the  series  of  children  from  the  Babies'  Hospital,  in  which  the 
best  average  conditions  obtained,  four  out  of  43,  or  9.3  percent, 
of  the  fatal  cases  of  tuberculosis  among  children  under  5  years 
of  age  were  due  to  bovine  tubercle  bacilli ;  while  in  the  series 
from  the  Foundling  Hospital,  consisting  almost  exclusively  of 
children  fed  upon  cow's  milk,  five  in  9,  or  55  percent,  of  the 
cases  of  tuberculosis  under  six  years  of  age  were  affected  with  the 
bovine  tubercle  bacillus.  These  authors  have  compiled  the  authen- 
tic cases  in  the  literature,  and  combining  these  with  the  cases 


/p/z]  TUBERCULOSIS  OF  FARM  ANIMALS  403- 

found  in  their  own  examinations,  they  make  a  total  of  1042  cases, 
of  which  101,  or  9.7  percent,  were  affections  due  to  the  bovine 
type  of  tubercle  bacillus.  In  adults  over  16  years  of  age  nine 
out  of  686  cases,  or  1.3  percent;  among  children  from  5  to  16 
years  of  age  thirty-three  of  132  cases,  or  25  percent;  while  among 
children  under  5  years  of  age  fifty-nine  of  220  cases,  or  27  per- 
cent, were  due  to  the  bovine  bacillus. 

That  man  may  become  infected  thru  the  consumption  of  tu- 
berculous food  products  is  no  longer  doubted  by  the  best  scientists. 
In  general,  animals  are  more  susceptible  to  the  bovine  type  of 
tubercle  bacillus  than  to  the  human  type,  and  that  man  is  an  ex- 
ception to  the  rule  there  is  no  good  reason  to  expect.  Many 
authentic  cases  in  which  man  has  become  infected  with  tubercle 
bacilli  of  the  bovine  type  have  been  cited,  and  it  is  clearly  evident 
that  children  are  much  more  liable  to  such  infection  than  adults. 

The  opportunity  for  man  to  become  infected  with 
7       bovine  tubercle  bacilli  is  almost  exclusively  thru 

FOR   HUMAN  ,     ,    ,  ,  -       ,         J    , 

INFECTION  consumption    of    tuberculous    food    products 

WITH  THE  BO-  such  as  butter,  milk,  and  meat.  By  consulting 
VINE  BACILLUS  Tables  i,  2,  4,  and  5,  one  may  get  an  estimate  of 
the  percentage  of  butter  and  milk,  containing  tu- 
bercle bacilli,  that  is  sold  upon  the  market.  The  percentage  for 
butter  is  about  13.2;  that  of  milk,  6.8.  The  discussion  relating 
to  tubercle  bacilli  in  these  two  products  has  been  given  (see  pages 
327  and  333.  The  danger  of  infection  from  meat  is  not  so  great 
as  from  butter  or  milk  for  two  reasons.  First,  children  are  more 
commonly  infected  thru  the  ingestion  of  tubercle  bacilli  in  food 
products  than  are  adults;  and  children  eat  less  meat  and  more 
butter  and  milk.  Second,  tubercle  bacilli  if  present  in  meat  are 
usually  killed  by  cooking.  However,  dried  and  smoked  meats, 
and  meats  not  thorolv  cooked  may  contain  virulent  tubercle  ba- 
cilli. Some  information  concerning  the  amount  of  tuberculous 
meat  can  be  obtained  from  the  reports  of  the  Federal  meat  in- 
spection carried  on  in  the  large  cities  (see  page  407).  While  in 
the  larger  cities  excellent  work  is  being  done  to  prevent  the  sell- 
ing of  tuberculous  milk,  butter,  meat,  and  other  foodstuffs,  there 
is  great  need  to  extend  this  work  to  the  smaller  cities  and  more 
generally  thrnout  the  country. 

CITY  Municipalities  should  be  giving  attention  thru 
ENFORCE  A  ^ie*r  Boards  of  Health  to  the  inspection  of  food 
TUBERCULOSIS  products,  especially  butter,  milk,  and  meat.  Most 
ORDINANCE  large  cities  have  milk  ordinances  and  various 
pure  food  ordinances.  The  question  has  been 
raised  as  to  whether  the  Federal  or  State  Constitutions  are  violated 


404  BULLETIN    No.    149  [February, 

by  enforcing  ordinances  prohibiting  thevsale  of  milk,  or  milk  held, 
kept,  offered  for  sale  or  delivered  without  a  permit  from  the  Board 
of  Health,  and  this  question  has  been  decided  by  the  courts.  Such 
a  case  is  reported  in  175  N.  Y.  440,  The  People  of  the  State  of 
New  York  ex  rel.  Simon  Lieberman,  appellant,  vs.  John  E.  Van- 
decarr  as  Warden  of  the  City  Prison  of  the  City  of  New  York, 
Respondent.  The  question  in  this  case  was  whether  Simon  Lieb- 
erman could  be  forced  to  obtain  a  permit  of  the  Board  of  Health 
of  the  City  of  New  York  before  he  could  vend  or  offer  for  sale 
milk  on  the  streets  of  said  city.  The  court  decided  that  the  mak- 
ing and  enforcing  of  such  regulations  is  constitutional  and  within 
the  powers  of  the  city.  The  court  said  further,  "In  great  cities, 
where,  in  certain  sections,  life  exists  under  crowded  conditions 
that  can  not  be  fully  comprehended  unless  seen,  and  where  many 
articles  for  table  consumption  by  all  classes  of  the  community  are 
liable  to  pass  thru  processes  and  conditions  little  short  of  ap- 
palling unless  regulated  by  law,  the  full  and  rigorous  exercise  of 
the  police  power  in  the  interest  of  the  public  health  and  general 
welfare  is  absolutely  essential."  This  was  the  decision  of  the 
Supreme  Court  of  the  State  of  New  York.  The  case  was  subse- 
quently taken  to  the  Supreme  Court  of  the  United  States,  October 
term,  1906,  where  the  decision  was  affirmed. 


JOINT  ^e^s^attire  m  I9°9  Passed  House  Joint  Reso- 

RESOLUTION        lution  No.  2O,  in  which  it  questions  the  right  of 
NO   20  tne  city  °f  Chicago  to  enforce  certain  ordinances 

regulating  the  sale  of  milk,  butter,  and  cheese  with- 
in said  city.  They  also  in  this  resolution  question  the  efficiency  of 
the  tuberculin  test  as  indicating  tuberculosis  in  cattle,  and  the  prac- 
ticability of  pasteurizing  milk.  The  decision  of  the  courts  of  New 
York  concerning  the  first  question  has  been  cited.  The  reliability 
of  the  tuberculin  test  as  shown  by  slaughter  inspections  is  98.37 
percent  according  to  the  report  by  Melvin,  already  cited,  whose 
authority  has  not  been  disputed.  As  to  the  pasteurization  of 
milk  the  University  Dairy  here  has  for  months  been  pasteurizing 
all  the  cream  used  in  making  butter.  The  quality  of  the  butter 
produced  by  this  dairy  is  considered  by  our  local  dealers  to  be  the 
best  upon  the  market  and  commands  the  highest  price.  Herr1 
says  that  the  pasteurizing  of  cream  at  75°  to  90°  C.  has  no  deteri- 
niental  influence  on  the  quality  of  the  butter.  The  taste  of 
"cooked  cream"  does  not  go  over  into  the  butter.  Five  seconds 
heating  at  85°  C.  is  sufficient  to  pasteurize  and  in  practice  85°  C. 
for  two  minutes  gives  the  best  results.  As  is  well  known,  the 
highly  prized  Danish  butter  is  invariably  made  from  pasteurized 
cream. 


/<?//]  TUBERCULOSIS  OF  FARM  ANIMALS  405 

THE  NECESSITY  ^°  en^orce  successfully  any  public  health  regula- 
FOR  POPULAR  t'0115)  n°t  a  f£w  but  a  majority  of  the  people  must 
EDUCATION  be  informed  upon  the  questions  involved.  Before 
CONCERNING  permanent  progress  can  be  made  in  eradicating 
TUBERCULOSIS  tuberculosis,  it  will  be  necessary  to  educate  the 
whole  people  concerning  this  disease.  It  will  be 
especially  important  for  them  to  know  its  extent  among  men,  and 
farm  animals;  to  know  its  manner  of  transmission,  the  means  of 
detecting  its  presence  and  the  ways  of  handling  the  disease.  One 
should  know  the  danger  from  infected  foods,  the  necessity  of 
health  regulations  concerning  the  sale  of  foods  likely  to  be  con- 
taminated with  tubercle  bacilli.  The  farmer  especially  should  un- 
derstand the  danger  both  to  his  herd  and  to  the  people  consuming 
the  products  of  his  herd  when  tuberculosis  is  found  among  his 
cattle. 

i.    There  are    200,000    deaths    annually  in    the 

SUMMARIZED         TT    .  o  ,  .  .      .         .       ,  .   /   .     . 

STATEMENT         United  States  from  tuberculosis  of  which  it  is  es- 
timated that  about  92  percent  are  caused  by  the 
human  type  of  tubercle  bacilli,  and  8  percent,  or  16,000  cases,  are 
caused  by  the  bovine  type. 

2.  In  the  latter  cases  the  disease  is  probably  contracted  al- 
most entirely  thru  the  food  and  is  found  almost  wholly  among 
children. 

3.  There  is  a  great  need  of  extending  the  excellent  sanitary 
regulations  of  some  of  our  large  cities  to  the  smaller  cities  and 
thruout  the  country  generally. 

4.  A  system  of  popular  education  concerning  tuberculosis,  the 
tuberculin  test,  and  health  regulations  would  be  of  great  benefit  to 
the  state. 

REFERENCES 

1.  Bongert,  J.,   Untersuchungen   iiber   den   Tuberkelbacillengehalt 
cles  Blutes,  des  Fleisches  und  der  Lymphdriissen  tuberkuloser  Schlacht- 
thiere.     Arch.  f.  Hyg.  69:  263-368.     1909. 

2.  Fibiger,  J.,  Discussion.     Sixth  Internat.  Cong,  on  Tuberculosis,. 
4,  part  2:  751.     1908. 

3.  Herr,  F.,   Das   Pasteurisiren  des   Rahms  als   Schutz  gegen   die 
Verbreitung  der  Tuberculose  durch  Butter.     Ztschr.   f.  Hyg.  38:  182- 
197.     1901. 

4.  Melvin,  A.  D.,  The  economic  importance  of  tuberculosis  of  food 
producing  animals.     Sixth  Internat.  Cong,  on  Tuberculosis  4,  part  2  r 
501-511.     1908. 

5.  Park,  W.  H.,  and  Krumwiede,  C.,  The  relative  importance  of 
the  bovine  and  human  types  of  tubercle  bacilli  in  the  different  forms 
of  human  tuberculosis.     lour.  Med.  Research.  23:  205-368.     1910. 


406  BULLETIN   No.   149  [February, 

6.  Smith,  Th.,    (Boston   Med.   and   Surg.   Jour.    Sept.   26,    1907.) 
Cited  by  Hess,  Jour.  Am.  Med.  Assoc.  52:  1011-1016.     1909. 

7.  Wilbur,  Cressy  L,  Tuberculosis  in  the  United  States.     Bureau 
of  Census,  Washington,  D.  C.,  Bull.  109,  1907. 

DISTRIBUTION  OF  TUBERCULOSIS  AMONG  FARM 

ANIMALS 

INTRODUCTION 

We  know  that  tuberculosis  is  wide  spread  and  very  common 
among  farm  animals,  and  facts  concerning  its  distribution  are 
accumulating  rapidly;  yet  there  can  not  be  said  to  be  anything 
like  adequate  knowledge  concerning  this  subject.  Published  re- 
ports upon  the  results  of  the  tuberculin  test  are  available  for  only 
a  fraction  of  one  percent  of  the  cattle  in  the  United  States.  In 
Illinois  comparatively  little  testing  has  been  done,  and  until  this 
is  done  we  can  not  know  definitely  concerning  the  amount  of  tu- 
berculosis in  this  state.  Hughes5  says,  "Illinois,  unquestionably 
has  an  average  of  25  percent  of  all  dairy  animals  infected  with 
tuberculosis".  He  says  further  that  examinations  of  herds  in 
State  institutions  have  given  a  still  higher  percentage.  From  all 
we  know  it  may  be  far  more  than  an  average  of  25  percent  for 
dairy  cattle,  but  until  the  state  has  records  of  tests  on  a  large 
portion  of  the  dairy  cattle  it  can  have  no  very  definite  knowledge 
upon  this  point. 

MEANS  OP  ASCERTAINING  DISTRIBUTION 

There  are  three  means  of  ascertaining  the  distribution  of  tu- 
berculosis among  farm  animals,  (i)  laboratory  tests  of  butter, 
oleomargarine,  and  milk  for  tubercle  bacilli,  (2)  tuberculin  test- 
ing of  cattle,  and  (3)  government  meat  inspection.  The  reports 
of  veterinarians  and  farmers  are  of  some  value  in  determining 
distribution,  but  we  have  no  detailed  reports  from  this  source  of 
information. 

LABORATORY       Laboratory  tests  of  dairy  products  are  indeed  not 
TESTS  at   all   a  definite  means  of  determining  distribu- 

tion, but  from  the  Tables,  No.  i,  No.  2,  No.  4, 
and  No.  5,  there  can  be  obtained  considerable  information  concern- 
ing the  distribution  of  tuberculosis  among  dairy  cattle.  In  this 
country  too  little  work  has  been  done  on  the  determination  of  the 
presence  of  tubercle  bacilli  in  market  butter  to  be  of  value  in 
this  connection.  From  the  reports  of  work  in  Germany,  it  is 
likely  that  nearly  10  percent  of  all  their  market  butter  contains 
tubercle  bacilli  virulent  to  guinea  pigs.  We  have  reason  to  think 


TUBERCULOSIS  OF  FARM  ANIMALS 


407 


that  it  would  be  as  high  in  this  country  since  Table  3,  Bacillus 
Tuberculosis  in  Market  Milk,  is  even  higher  than  that  shown 
for  the  presence  of  Bacillus  tuberculosis  in  the  market  milk  of 
Germany.  The  average  of  the  positive  findings  of  the  three  larg- 
est series  of  tests  made  for  tubercle  bacilli  in  market  milk  in 
this  country  is  17.5  percent.  We  refer  to  the  work  of  Anderson,1 
Hess,*  and  Field,3  of  Washington,  New  York,  and  Louisville, 
respectively.  Their  total  samples  examined  aggregate  447  with  a 
total  of  78  samples  containing  tubercle  bacilli. 


TUBERCULIN  reP°rts  °^  tuberculin  testing  give  the  most 

TESTING  OF         accurate  information  we  have  concerning  the  dis- 
CATTLE  tribution  of  tuberculosis  among  dairy  cattle.  This 

however  is  very  inadequate  when  we  consider 
what  a  minute  fraction  of  the  total  cattle  have  been  tested.  The 
Bureau  of  Statistics7  of  the  Department  of  Agriculture  has  es- 
timated for  January  i,  1908,  that  there  is  a  total  of  71,267,000 
cattle  in  the  United  States;  and  the  Bureau  of  Animal  Industry' 
has  recorded  for  the  last  fifteen  years  (1893  to  July  31,  1908  in- 
clusive) the  testing  of  400,008  cattle,  i.  e.,  the  number  of  tests 
in  fifteen  years  is  about  0.5  of  one  percent  of  the  number  of  cat- 
tle in  the  United  States  in  the  single  year  1908.  This  testing  has 
been  done  irregularly,  sometimes  upon  requests  by  owners,  at 
other  times  because  cities  made  it  compulsory  that  all  cows  supply- 
ing milk  to  the  city  should  be  subjected  to  the  tuberculin  test. 
Tho  inadequate,  it  is  the  best  means  at  hand  for  determining  the 
distribution  of  bovine  tuberculosis  in  the  country.  Of  the  400,- 
008  cattle  tested  as  stated  above,  37,000  reacted  to  tuberculin,  or 
9.25  percent.  And  from  this  Melvin  says  it  is  probable  that  10 
percent  of  the  dairy  cattle  and  3.5  percent  of  all  cattle  in  the  United 
States  have  tuberculosis. 


There  is  given  here  a  table  from  Melvin's  paper 
cited  above:     Animals  slaughtered  under  Federal 
Inspection  in  the  United  States  with  number  and 
percentage  found  tuberculous  during  fiscal  year  1908: 


MEAT   INSPEC- 
TION   STA- 
TISTICS 


Kind 

Number 
slaughtered 

Number  of  animals 
condemned  for 
tuberculosis 

Percentage 
condemned  for 
tuberculosis 

Cattle  

7,116,275 

68,395 

0.961 

Calves  

1,195,487 

524 

0.026 

Hog's  

35,113,077 

719,309 

2.049 

Sheep  

9,702,545 

40 

0.000 

Goats  

45,953 

1 

0.000 

Total    

53,973,337 

788,269 

1.460 

408  BULLETIN   No.    149  [February, 

Melvin  says  that  the  Federal  meat  inspection  now  covers  more 
than  one-half  of  all  the  animals  slaughtered :f or  food  in  the  United 
States.  So  the  above  table  gives  a  fairly  good  idea  of  the  extent 
of  the  disease  among  the  meat  producing  animals  of  the  count ly. 

In  the  State  of  Illinois  and  most  of  the  other  states  in  the 
Union  there  is  no  meat  inspection  except  in  the  large  slaughtering 
houses.  So  if  the  parties  having  animals  for  slaughter  suspect 
that  their  animals  are  tuberculous,  the  tendency  may  be  to  sell 
them  where  there  is  no  inspection.  For  this  reason  the  animals 
slaughtered  without  inspection  are  likely  to  have  a  higher  per- 
centage of  tuberculosis,  and  it  is  therefore  quite  certain  that  over 
one  percent  of  all  beef  cattle  and  over  two  percent  of  all  swine 
slaughtered  in  the  United  States  are  seriously  affected  with  tu- 
berculosis. 

P  ^n    some   particular   instances   in    several    of   the 

CENTAGE  IN  states,  herds  have  been  found  to  have  a  high  per- 
PARTICULAR  ccntagc  of  tuberculous  animals.  In  1901,  Rus- 
INSTANCES  se^  ar>d  Hastings"  reported  the  testing  in  Massa- 

chusetts of  24,685  cattle  of  which  12,443  or  50 
percent  reacted  to  tuberculin.  In  1905,  Russell'3  reported  work 
done  in  1903  and  1904,  in  which  21  herds  in  Wisconsin  having 
wide  spread  infection  were  tested.  These  21  herds  aggregated 
933  cows  of  which  518  or  55  percent  were  tuberculous.  In  1901, 
Pearson,  and  Ravenel11  tested  twelve  herds  having  a  total  of  599 
cattle,  484  or  80  percent  reacting.  In  1908,  Ward  and  Raring1' 
reported  the  testing  of  22  herds  in  California  near  San  Francisco 
totaling  1022  cows  of  which  326  or  31.9  percent  reacted.  In 
1908,  -Moore8  compiled  figures  obtained  from  work  done  under  the 
direction  of  the  Commissioners  of  Agriculture  of  Xew  York  State 
and  of  private  veterinarians,  and  found  32.26  percent  of  the  cows 
reacting  to  the  tuberculin  test. 

DISTRIBUTION  Denmark. — Bang"  reported  the  tuberculin  testing 
IN  FOREIGN  from  1898  to  1904  of  40,624  head  of  cattle.  Of 
COUNTRIES  the  calves  under  six  months  12.1  percent  were 
tuberculous;  of  the  yearlings  (6  to  18  months) 
27.5  percent;  of  cows  i^  to  2^/2  years,  38.6  percent;  of  those 
2/^  to  5  years,  44.9  percent ;  and  of  those  over  5  years  old  48.0 
percent  were  tuberculous.  Belgium. — Heymans"  said  that  there 
are  about  2,000,000  cattle  in  Belgium  of  which  about  1,000,000 
are  milk  cows.  About  40  percent  of  the  cows  and  10  percent 
of  the  other  cattle  or  an  average  of  25  percent  of  all  cattle  have 
tuberculosis.  Germany. — Ostertag10  in  1907,  recorded  the  testing 
of  215,837  dairy  cattle  in  Saxony  of  which  115,100  or  43.6  per- 
sent  reacted  to  tuberculin.  Xocard9  estimated  that  25  percent 


/pi/]  TUBERCULOSIS  OF  FARM  ANIMALS  409 

of  all  dairy  cattle  in  the  regions  of  Brie  and  Beance  in  France 
were  tuberculous,  while  some  other  regions  were  free  from  this 
disease.  The  Royal  Veterinary  College  of  England12  in  1900,  re- 
ported the  testing  of  20,930  animals  of  which  5441  or  26  percent 
reacted. 

There  are  some  parts  of  the  world,  as  for  example,  Japan, 
the  northern  parts  of  Norway  and  Sweden,  the  Steppes  of  Russia, 
the  Island  of  Jersey,  and  parts  of  Africa  and  South  America 
where  bovine  tuberculosis  is  entirely  absent  or  very  rare.15  These 
are  places  where  the  importation  of  cattle  has  been  small  in  amount 
and  this  disease  has  not  yet  been  disseminated. 

FACTORS  INFLUENCING  DISTRIBUTION 

The  factors  that  are  continuing  to  extend  tuber- 
QF  CATTLE  culosis  among  farm  animals  are  extensive  trading 

in  cattle  on  the  one  hand  and  the  subtleness  of  the 
disease  on  the  other  hand.  In  order  to  improve  the  herds  thorough- 
bred stock  has  been  imported  and  incidentally  tuberculosis  has  been 
introduced  with  it.  Salmon10  says,  "Unfortunately,  the  breeders  of 
Great  Britain  were  not  as  skillful  in  avoiding  tuberculosis  as  they 
were  in  increasing  the  size,  perfecting  the  form,  and  hastening  the 
maturity  of  animals,  and  the  result  has  been  not  only  that  they  un- 
wittingly propagated  the  disease,  but  that  they  distributed  it  in 
the  most  e.vtensk'c  manner".  The  improvement  and  increase  in 
transportation  facilities,  together  with  the  wider  recognition  of 
the  value  of  a  few  pure  bred  animals  in  improving  the. quality 
of  a  herd,  have  led  to  extensive  buying  and  selling  of  cattle  for 
breeding  purposes.  This  trade  in  cattle  is  very  essential  to  the  wel- 
fare of  the  live  stock  industries,  but  it  should  be  clearly  recognized 
that  precisely  this  is  the  chief  mode  of  introducing  tuberculosis 
into  a  previously  healthy  herd.  The  owner  of  a  healthy  herd  can- 
not be  too  careful  in  selecting  the  animals  which  he  expects  to 
add  to  it.  It  is  the  nature  of  this  disease  to  disguise  its  presence. 
The  cow  with  the  disease  looks  well,  may  breed  well,  eat  well,  and 
continue  to  give  milk.  In  fact,  it  may  be  only  in  the  last  stage 
of  the  disease,  long  after  she  has  become  dangerous  by  distributing 
the  germs  in  her  feces,  urine',  or  milk,  that  physical  signs  of  tu- 
berculosis appear.  Thus  it  often  happens  that  a  whole  herd  may 
become  infected  before  the  owner  recognizes  the  presence  of  the 
disease. 

STOCK  SHOWS    Stock   shows,   state  and   county   fairs    are    other 

AND  FAIRS  means  of  disseminating  the  disease.      At   such   a 

fair  where  the  stock  drink  from  the  same  watering 

trough,  where  in  the  show  ring  they  may  nose  each  other,  a  bad  tu- 


410  BULLETIN   No.   149  [February, 

berculous  cow  may  infect  the  stock  of  a  number  of  other  farms 
and  the  fact  may  not  be  discovered  for  months  or  years  afterward. 
Stock  owners  ought  to  exercise  great  caution  in  taking  their  stock 
to  such  shows.  No  stock  should  be  permitted  to  be  shown  un- 
less the  owner  has  a  certificate  of  a  negative  tuberculin  test  for 
the  stock  he  is  entering.  Laws  were  passed  in  Denmark  seventeen 
years  ago  to  prevent  tuberculous  cattle  and  swine  from  entering 
stock  shows  and  fairs  and  these  laws  have  materially  lessened  tu- 
berculosis in  Denmark. 


HOGS  FOLLOW-    ^ne  practice  of  having  hogs  follow  corn-fed  cat- 
ING  CORN-  tie  is  another  great  means  of  distributing  tuber- 

FED  CATTLE  culosis.  It  has  been  noted  for  some  years  that 
hogs  shipped  from  the  dairy  regions,  both  in  this 
and  in  foreign  countries,  have  upon  slaughtering  far  more  tubercu- 
losis than  hogs  from  other  parts  of  the  country.  This  is  due  to 
the  fact  that  hogs  readily  take  tuberculosis  by  eating  corn  out  of 
manure  or  by  drinking  the  milk  of  tuberculous  cattle.  Hogs 
should  never  be  permitted  to  follow  tuberculous  cattle.  Calves 
and  hogs  should  not  be  fed  separator  milk  from  the  creameries 
unless  the  milk  has  been  pasteurized  or  boiled. 


VENTILATION       ^  *s  we^  known  that  living  out  of  doors  and  get- 
AND  OUT-  ting  an  abundance  of  pure  air  tends  to  check  and 

DOOR  LIFE  even  to  arrest  tuberculosis  in  human  beings.  This 
may  also  be  true  among  cattle.  But  it  does  not 
follow  from  this  that  if  cattle  live  out  of  doors  entirely,  they  will 
be  entirely  free  from  tuberculosis.  Ward  and  Haring18  reported 
the  testing  of  1022  cattle  in  California  of  which  326  or  31.9  per- 
cent were  tuberculous,  while  tests  in  New  York  State  compiled 
by  Moore  showed  a  percentage  of  32.26  having  this  disease.  In 
New  York  the  cattle  are  more  or  less  housed  in  barns  thruout 
the  year  while  in  California  the  cattle  tested  by  Ward  and  Haring 
were  kept  almost  exclusively  out  doors  in  large  pastures  or  ranges 
and  only  put  in  open  sheds  at  milking  and  feeding  time.  The 
herds  were  otherwise  handled  much  like  the  Eastern  herds,  the 
cattle  were  associated  together  at  feeding  times,  and  the  herds 
were  built  up  by  "buying  in"  fresh  cows.  This  indicates  that  the 
climate  is  not  a  very  important  factor  in  preventing  the  spread  of 
tuberculosis  in  cattle.  Whatever  the  climate,  or  the  breed,  or  the 
stock,  or  the  vigor,  when  tuberculosis  is  introduced  by  purchase 
or  otherwise,  unless  means  are  taken  to  arrest  its  spread,  it  will 
finally  infect  and  destroy  the  whole  herd, 


/pi/]  TUBERCULOSIS  OF  FARM  ANIMALS  411 

SUMMARY 

1.  Tuberculosis   among    farm   animals   is    found   extensively 
thruout  the  whole  world. 

2.  Our  knowledge  concerning  distribution  is  as  yet  very  in- 
complete. 

3.  The  three  important  means  of  ascertaining  the  distribution 
of  tuberculosis  among  farm  animals  are  thru  the  reports  of  lab- 
oratory tests  of  dairy  products,  tuberculin  testing  of  cattle,  and 
government  meat  inspection. 

4.  In  particular  instances  the  percentage  of  tuberculous  cat- 
tle are  very  high,  in  some  states  ranging  from  32  to  80  percent. 

5.  The  percentage  of  tuberculous  cattle  in  foreign  countries 
where  much  more  testing  has  been  done  than  in  the  United  States 
ranges  from  25  to  48  percent. 

6.  The  two  things  most  favoring  the  distribution  of  this  dis- 
ease are  the  extensive  trade  in  (tuberculous)  cattle;  and  the  dif- 
ficulty of  recognizing  the  disease  by  physical  signs  until  it  is  far 
advanced. 

7.  The  tuberculin  test  should  always  be  applied  before  adding 
a  newly  purchased  animal  to  the  herd. 

REFERENCES 

1.  Anderson,  J.  F.,  The  frequency  of  tubercle  bacilli  in  the  market 
milk  of  Washington,  D.  C.   U.  S.  Hyg.  Lab.  Bull.  41 :  163-192.     1908. 
Also  Jour.  Inf.  Dis.  5:  107-115.     1908. 

2.  Bang,   B.,   Measures   against  animal  tuberculosis   in   Denmark. 
Sixth  Internat.  Cong,  on  Tuberculosis.    4,  part  2:  855-867.     1908. 

3.  Field,  C.  W.,  Tubercle  bacilli  in  market  milk  of  Louisville,  Ky. 
Louisville  Times,  July,  1909. 

4.  Hess,  A.  H.,  The  incidence  of  tubercle  bacilli  in  New  York  City 
milk.     Jour.  Am.  Med.  Assoc.  52.     1011-1016.     1909. 

5.  Hughes,   D.   A.,   Precautionary   sanitary  legislation   against  tu- 
berculosis of  the  domesticated  animals  in  the  United   States.     Sixth 
Internat.  Cong,  on  Tuberculosis,  4,  part  2:  971.     1908. 

6.  Heymans,    Discussion.     Results    accomplished    in    Belgium    to- 
ward  the    controlling    of   tuberculosis    of    animals.      Sixth    Internat. 
Cong,  on  Tuberculosis  4,  part  2 :  522.     1908. 

7.  Melvin,  A.  D.,  The  economic  importance  of  tuberculosis  of  food 
producing  animals.     Sixth  Internat.  Cong,  on  Tuberculosis  4,  part  2 : 
501-511.     1908. 

8.  Moore,  V.  A.,  Bovine  tuberculosis  in  New  York  State.     Cited 
by  Ward  and  Haring.     1908. 

9.  Nocard,  Cited  by  Salmon. 


412  BULLETIN   No.   149  [Ffbnutry, 

10.  Osterag,   R.,    Die    Milchwirtschaft   mid   die    Bekampfung   der 
Rindertuberkulose.    Zeit.  f.  Fleisch-  und  Milch-Hyg.  18:  41-50.    1907. 

11.  Pearson,  L.  and  Ravenel,  M.  P.,  Tuberculosis  of  cattle  and  the 
Pennsylvania  plan  for  its  repression.     Perm.  Dept.  of  Agr.  Bull.  75, 
1901. 

12.  Royal  Vet.  Col.  England,  After  Salmon,  U.  S.  Dept.  of  Agr., 
Bureau  of  Animal  Industry  Bull.  38:12.     1906. 

13.  Russell,  H.  L.,  Two  ways  of  treating  tuberculosis  in  herds. 
Wis.  Agr.  Exp.  Sta.  Bull.  126.     1901. 

14.  Russell    and    Hastings.      Bovine     tuberculosis     in     Wisconsin. 
Wis.  Agr.  Exp.  Sta.  Bull.  84.     1901. 

15.  Salmon,  D.  E.,  Tuberculosis  of  the   food  producing  animals. 
U.S.  Dept.  of  Agr.,  Bureau  of  Animal  Industry  Bull.  38:  1906. 

1 6.  Ward   and   Haring.      The   prevalence   of   tuberculosis   among 
dairy  cattle  in  the  vicinity  of  San   Francisco,  California.     Sixth  In- 
ternat.  Cong,  on  Tuberculosis  4,  part  2 :  564-569.     1908. 

METHODS  OF  COMBATING  ANIMAL  TUBERCULOSIS 
RECOGNITION  BY  PHYSICAL,  MEANS 

The  first  essential  in  combating  tuberculosis  of  farm  animals 
is  the  recognition  of  the  disease.  In  general  this  cannot  be  done 
by  a  physical  examination  alone.  No  expert  can  recognize  tuber- 
culosis, except  in  the  advanced  stages,  by  making  a  physical  ex- 
amination ever  so  carefully.  In  advanced  cases  or  in  moderately 
advanced  cases  a  cough  is  often  present.  In  tuberculosis  of  the 
udder  an  emaciated  quarter  or  knots  in  the  udder  may  be  noted. 
In  the  last  stages  of  the  disease,  generally  only  shortly  before 
death,  the  animal  becomes  much  emaciated  and  then  the  condition 
may  be  recognized  from  the  external  appearance. 

RECOGNITION  BY  MEANS  OF  THE  TUBERCULIN  .TEST 

The  tuberculin  test  is  by  far  the  best  means  of  recognizing 
tuberculosis  in  cattle  in  its  early  stages.  It  is  made  by  first  as- 
certaining the  normal  temperature  of  the  cow,  then  injecting  a 
dose  of  tuberculin  under  the  skin  of  the  neck  and  then  observing 
the  effect  upon  the  temperature  produced  by  the  tuberculin  in- 
jected. 

TUBERCULIN  Tuberculin  is  the  product  of  an  extensive  growth 
of  B.  tuberculosis  in  an  artificial  medium.  The 
medium  used  is  six  percent  glycerine  meat  broth.  This  medium 
is  made  and  sterilized  in  broad  bottomed,  cotton  stoppered  flasks. 
These  flasks  are  inoculated  with  a  pure  culture  and  are  kept  at 
body  temperature  (37°  Centigrade)  for  some  weeks  until' a  thick 


/9//]  TUBERCULOSIS  OF  FARM  ANIMALS  413 

crumpled  membranous  growth  covers  the  surface  of  the  glycerine 
broth.  The  bacteria  are  killed  by  heat  and  then  removed  by  fil- 
tering thru  a  fine  clay  filter.  The  filtrate  is  then  placed  in  an 
evaporating  dish  and  concentrated  to  one-tenth  its  original  vol- 
ume. This  concentrated  filtrate  is  tuberculin.  Tuberculin  as  just 
described  is  prepared  by  the  Bureau  of  Animal  Industry  of  the 
United  States  Department  of  Agriculture  and  is  diluted  with  weak 
(one  percent)  carbolic  acid  to  eight  times  its  volume  before  use. 
In  this  form,  it  is  more  convenient  for  use  than  the  original  thick 
syrupy  liquid.  It  is  sent  out  free  of  charge  in  either  the  concen- 
trated or  in  the  diluted  form  read  for  use. 


OBSERVATION  i  cattle  to   be  tested      should  be  kept   in  the 

^rr  -ri_irr  -i-c.-i       stable,  resting  quietly  for  some  hours  at  least  be- 

OF   THE    TEM-  7  J      . 

PERATURE  *ore  tne  temperature  is  taken.     Disturbing  fac- 

tors such  as  excessive  feeding,  drinking  large 
amounts  of  cold  water,  or  excitement  of  the  animal  should  be 
avoided.  The  temperature  is  taken  with  a  self  -registering  physi- 
cian's clinical  thermometer,  placed  in  the  rectum  of  the  animal.  It 
is  necessary  to  throw  down  the  column  of  mercury  in  such  an 
instrument  each  time  it  is  used,  and  the  position  of  the  column 
should  be  carefully  examined  each  time  just  before  insertion  of 
the  thermometer,  to  be  certain  that  the  mercury  is  down  below 
99°  Fahrenheit.  Neglect  of  this  precaution  may  lead  to  very  seri- 
ous error.  The  thermometer  is  tied  with  a  string  around  the  con- 
striction and  then  fastened  to  the  cow  with  a  hair  clamp  or  tied 
around  the  tail  with  a  string  so  that  if  the  thermometer  falls  it 
will  not  strike  the  floor  and  break.  Before  inserting  the  ther- 
mometer it  should  be  washed  in  5  percent  carbolic  acid,  wiped 
with  a  sterile  cloth  and  smeared  with  vaseline.  It  is  then  carefully 
inserted  into  the  rectum  for  its  whole  length,  where  it  is  allowed 
to  remain  for  three  to  five  minutes.  Two  persons  working  to- 
gether, one  reading,  the  other  recording  the  temperatures,  can 
keep  in  use  five  or  six  thermometers  at  one  time. 

A  cow's  normal  temperature  is  101°  to  102.5°  Fahrenheit;  if 
because  of  any  fever,  being  in  heat,  calving,  or  something  else, 
the  temperature  is  abnormal  the  tuberculin  test  should  not  be 
made  at  this  time.  Such  animals  should  be  excluded  from  the 
test  and  should  be  tested  at  a  subsequent  time  when  the  cause  of 
the  abnormal  temperature  is  no  longer  present.  A  good  method  of 
procedure  is,  on  the  first  day,  to  determine  the  normal  temperature 
of  the  cow  by  beginning  at  eight  o'clock  in  the  morning  and  tak- 
ing her  temperature  every  two  hours  until  six  o'clock  in  the  even- 
ing. The  average  of  these  temperatures  may  be  regarded  as  her 
normal  temperature.  Excluding  all  cows  with  abnormal  tern- 


414  BULLETIN   No.   149  [February, 

peratures,  inject  the  tuberculin  into  the  others  at  8  p.  m.,  and  be- 
gin again  the  next  morning  at  six  o'clock  and  observe  the  tempera- 
ture at  two  hour  intervals  or  more  frequently  thruout  the  day. 
By  comparison  of  the  temperature  on  the  day  following  the  injec- 
tion of  the  tuberculin  with  the  temperature  on  the  previous  day 
the  result  of  the  test  is  determined.  For  the  correct  interpretation 
of  the  test  a  man  of  training,  experience  and  judgment  is  neces- 
sary. 


INJECTING  THE  ^or  tne  mjecti°n  of  the  tuberculin  a  good  syringe 
TUBERCULIN  w^tn  several  sharp  stout  needles  is  required.  The 
needles  may  be  sharpened  from  time  to  time  on 
an  oil  stone.  The  syringe  should  hold  from  five  to  ten  cubic  cen- 
timeters and  should  be  graduated  in  cubic  centimeters.  It  should 
be  sterilized  by  boiling  before  use.  The  injection  is  made  sub- 
cutaneously  in  the  neck.  Here  the  skin  is  thin  and  is  easily  pulled 
into  a  fold.  The  needle,  if  sharp,  can  be  pushed  in  with  but 
little  trouble.  It  should  be  held  almost  parallel  to  the  surface  of 
the  neck,  so  as  not  to  enter  the  muscles.  Have  the  set  screw  placed 
so  that  the  exact  amount  can  be  injected.  For  an  animal  weigh- 
ing a  thousand  pounds  two  cubic  centimeters  is  the  usual  dose; 
for  animals  weighing  more  or  less,  a  proportionally  greater  or 
smaller  amount  of  tuberculin  should  be  used. 

.  s 

POSITIVE  AND     Usually  in   the  positive  reactions   the  maximum 
NEGATIVE  temperature   on  the  day   following  the   injection 

REACTION  is   from   3°   to   5°    Fahrenheit  above   the  normal 

temperature;  if  the  rise  is  less  than  2°F.  it  is  to 
be  considered  doubtful.  Some  consider  1.5°  F.  above  the  normal 
individual  temperature  as  determined  on  the  previous  day  as  suf- 
ficient to  indicate  a  positive  reaction.  The  elevation  of  tempera- 
ture should  come  on  gradually,  remaining  practically  at  its  maxi- 
mum for  a  few  hours,  and  gradually  subside.  A  sudden  elevation 
which  is  not  continued  is  not  to  be  considered  a  reaction.  All 
doubtful  cases  should  be  retested  after  six  to  eight  weeks.  On  the 
opposite  page  are  some  examples  of  temperature  observations  in 
typical  positive  and  in  typical  negative  cases. 


RELIABILITY  ^^  positive  reactions  of  the  tuberculin  test  are 
OF  POSITIVE  very  reliable.  The  Bureau  of  Animal  Industry 
REACTIONS  reports  tests  from  1893  to  1908,  upon  400,000 
cattle;  24,784  of  the  reacting  cattle  were  slaugh- 
tered and  of  these,  24,387  or  98.39  percent  were  found  to  be 
tuberculous.  In  Pennsylvania  4000  animals  that  had  given  char- 
acteristic reactions  were  slaughtered  and  examined,  and  the  pres- 
ence of  the  disease  was  demonstrated  in  all  but  eight  of  these 
animals,  99.8  percent.  Fifty-eight  of  the  cattle  used  in  the  ex- 


TUBERCULOSIS  OF  FARM  ANIMALS 


415 


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191 1]  TUBERCULOSIS  OF  FARM  ANIMALS  419 

perimental  work  of  this  bulletin  that  had  given  positive  tuberculin 
reactions  have  been  slaughtered.  In  seventeen  of  them,  slaughtered 
and  inspected  by  us  in  Urbana,  typical  lesions  of  tuberculosis  were 
found  in  every  case.  Of  the  forty-one  slaughtered  and  inspected 
at  Chicago,  lesions  of  tuberculosis  were  found  in  only  twenty-four. 
The  work  of  the  government  inspectors  is  necessarily  done'rapidly, 
and  it  is  not  impossible  that  slight  lesions,  unimportant  from  the 
standpoint  of  food  value  of  the  carcass,  might  be  overlooked. 

The  tuberculin  test  is  not  an  absolutely  reliable  test  for  the 
presence  or  absence  of  tuberculosis.  It  is,  however,  very  reliable 
when  positive;  not  so  reliable  when  negative.  It  is  by  far  the 
most  reliable  means  known  to  determine  the  presence  of  tuber- 
culosis. 

NATURE  OF  ^  consideration  of  the  nature  of  the  reaction  as 
THE  REACTION  explained  by  Theobald  Smith9  may  do  much  to 
clear  up  the  confusion  regarding  the  failure  to 
react  which  sometimes  occurs  in  tuberculous  animals.  The  tubercle 
bacilli  growing  in  the  body  induce  certain  tissue  changes  and 
arouse  certain  new  functions  of  the  tissues  which  are  in  the  nature 
of  a  partial  immunization.  It  is  the  action  of  the  specific  product, 
resulting  from  these  changes,  upon  the  tuberculin  that  causes  the 
latter  to  split  off  a  poisonous  substance,  which  poison  acting  upon 
the  tissues  causes  the  elevation  of  temperature.  Now,  when  the 
lesion  is  healing  there  is  formed  about  it  a  fibrous  wall  which  tends 
to  isolate  it  from  the  surrounding  tissues.  This  wall  prevents 
the  specific  product  of  the  tissue  changes,  induced  by  the  tubercle 
bacilli,  from  getting  outside  it,  and  thus,  not  being  able  to  act 
upon  the  tuberculin,  it  fails  to  split  off  the  poisonous  product,  and 
no  elevation  of  temperature  occurs.  Therefore  in  a  cow  with 
only  a  few  healing  lesions  a  reaction  may  not  occur.  But  such  a 
lesion  may  afterward  become  active  and  so  give  rise  to  a  positive 
reaction  at  a  later  time. '  Harding  and  Smith4  have  described  a 
cow  (Millie  D.)  which  had  reacted  and  then  failed  to  react  for 
three  years.  At  her  death,  they  found  a  few  tubercles,  no  larger 
than  a  pea  and  completely  encapsulated.  These  tubercles,  crushed 
in  sterile  water  and  injected  into  guinea  pigs,  produced  generalized 
tuberculosis. 

The  period  between  infection  and  the  time  when  a  tuberculin 
reaction  will  first  take  place  is  known  as  the  period  of  incubation. 
There  must  be  produced  enough  of  the  "specific  product"  formed 
by  the  reaction  of  the  tissues  which  are  stimulated  by  the  pres- 
ence of  the  tubercle  bacilli,  in  order  to  react  with  the  tuberculin 
to  produce  the  fever.  Just  how  long  a  period  of  incubation  is 
required  is  not  known.  It  probably  varies  considerably  in  indi- 
vidual cases  from  a  few  weeks  to  several  months. 


420 


BULLETIN  No.   149 


[February, 


An  important  series  of  tests  described  by  Moore8  may  serve 
to  illustrate  the  failure  of  the  tuberculin  test  to  detect  all  cases 
of  tuberculosis  in  a  herd  at  a  single  test.  In  January,  1904,  a 
herd  of  491  cattle  was  tested  with  tuberculin.  Of  these  only  96 
cows  failed  to  react.  The  stables  were  disinfected  with  five  per- 
cent carbolic  acid  and  the  reacting  animals  all  immediately  re- 
moved. The  apparently  healthy  animals  were  tested  every  six 
months  afterward  and  all  subsequently  reacting  animals  promptly 
removed.  The  non-reacting  animals  were  guarded  carefully  from 
reinfection.  The  result  was  as  follows : 


1904  Jan. 

491 

tested 

395 

reacted 

96 

did 

not 

react 

80.4 

percent 

reacted 

1904  July 

96 

tested 

3i 

reacted 

65 

did 

not 

react 

32.2 

percent 

reacted 

1905  Jan. 

65 

tested 

8 

reacted 

57 

did 

not 

react 

12.3 

percent 

reacted 

1905  July 

57 

tested 

15 

reacted 

42 

did 

not 

react 

26.3 

percent 

reacted 

1906  Jan. 

42 

tested 

15 

reacted 

27 

did 

not 

react 

35-7 

percent 

reacted 

1906  July 

27 

tested 

3 

reacted 

24 

did 

not 

react 

ii.  i 

percent 

reacted 

1907  Jan. 

24 

tested 

2 

reacted 

22 

did 

not 

react 

8-3 

percent 

reacted 

1907  July 

22 

tested 

I 

reacted 

21 

did 

not 

react 

4-5 

percent 

reacted 

1908  Jan. 

21 

tested 

I 

reacted 

20 

did 

not 

react 

4-7 

percent 

reacted 

1908  July 

20 

tested 

I 

reacted 

19 

did 

not 

react 

5-0 

percent 

reacted 

Several  of  these  animals  which  failed  to  react  at  the  first  test 
but  did  react  later  were  examined  post  mortem.  The  lesions  were 
slight  in  extent  but  of  long  standing  and  surrounded  by  a  wall 
of  fibrous  tissue.  Moore  thinks  these  cows  were  infected  and  the 
lesions  healed  or  partially  healed  before  the  first  test  January, 
1904.  Afterward  the  arrested  lesion  became  active.  So  the  os- 
cillation of  the  morbid  process  between  an  active  and  an  arrested 
condition  is  an  important  factor  in  the  result  of  the  tuberculin 
test. 

The  cow  may  fail  to  react  during  the  early  or  incubation  pe- 
riod, or  at  a  time  when  the  lesions  are  healing  or  partially  healed 
but  also  the  reaction  may  fail  in  very  advanced  cases.  While 
this  last  is  rare  and  in  such  cases  the  disease  may  usually  be  rec- 
ognized by  a  physical  examination,  yet  it  may  escape  recognition, 
and  such  an  occurrence  is  liable  to  cause  very  serious  trouble. 
For  such  an  animal  is  usually  passing  out  enormous  numbers  of 
the  tubercle  bacilli  from  her  body  and  may  quickly  infect  a  large 
part  of  the  other  animals  in  the  herd.  Special  care  should  be 
exercised  to  detect  these  very  important  cases. 

RECOGNITION  BY  MICROSCOPIC  AND  ANIMAL  TESTS 

Special  laboratory  procedures  are  useful  in  detecting  the  dan- 
gerously tuberculous  cow;  to  detect  the  cow  that  is  constantly 
passing  virulent  tubercle  bacilli  in  the  milk,  feces,  or  other  se- 
cretions in  order  that  she  may  be  removed  from  the  herd.  Micro- 
scopic examination  may  be  useful  where  a  very  bad  udder  is  sus- 


TUBERCULOSIS  OF  FARM  ANIMALS  421 

pected  or  something  of  this  nature;  but  this  test  can  not  be  relied 
upon  unless  the  organisms  are  found  in  great  numbers.  Negative 
results  are  practically  worthless.  The  testing  of  feces  by  micro- 
scopic examination  and  by  animal  inoculations  has  already  been 
discussed.  Uterine  and  nasal  discharges  may  be  tested  by  similar 
methods.  In  many  European  countries  the  testing  of  milk  by 
guinea  pig  inoculations  in  order  to  discover  the  cow  with  tuber- 
culous udder  is  a  common  laboratory  practice.  Mention  of  this 
subject  has  been  made  in  connection  with  the  report  of  Mueller's 
work.  (See  page  344.) 

HARPOONING  Another  means  of  testing  is  by  harpooning.  This 
is  more  frequently  used  to  determine  the  nature 
of  knots  or  supposed  tubercules  in  the  udder,  especially,  or  upon 
any  part  of  the  body.  A  harpoon,  which  is  a  needle  with  a  beard 
at  the  tip,  is  thrust  into  the  suspected  swelling,  revolved  once, 
and  quickly  withdrawn.  It  brings  with  it,  on  the  hook,  a  small 
bit  of  tissue  which  can  be  examined  directly  with  the  microscope 
or  inoculated  into  animals.  None  of  these  methods  can  take  the 
place  of  the  tuberculin  test  but  they  are  useful  as  supplements  to 
this  test. 

DISPOSAL,  OF  THE  TUBERCULOUS  Cow 

What  shall  be  done  with  the  tuberculous  cow  when  she  has 
been  recognized?  If  the  cow  is  wasting  in  body  or  physical  signs 
of  tuberculosis  are  evident,  she  should  be  killed  at  once  and  buried, 
or  burned,  or  put  in  the  rendering  tank.  When  the  cow  is  in  ap- 
parently good  or  fair  condition  she  may  be  valuable  for  beef,  or 
she  may  be  useful  for  the  production  of  milk  and  the  raising  of 
calves  for  some  years. 

Slaughter  under   inspection   is  usually   the    most 

OlAllf^LJTpp  •••  ' 

UNDER  IN  satisfactory  means  of  disposal  unless  the  cow  is 

SPECTION  especially  valuable  for  the  production  of  milk  and 

butter  and  the  raising  of  calves.  To  the  owners  of 
small  herds  slaughter  under  inspection  is  to  be  recommended.  The 
preservation  in  quarantine  of  the  tuberculous  portion  of  the  herd 
according  to  the  Bang  method  can  sometimes  be  recommended 
to  owners  of  large  herds.  . 

THE  BANG  METHOD. 

What  is  known  as  the  Bang  method  of  handling  a  tuberculous 
herd  in  quarantine,  and  the  building  up  of  a  healthy  herd  from 
a  tuberculous  herd  was  first  carried  out  by  Prof.  Bernard  Bang  of 
the  Royal  Veterinary  College  of  Copenhagen,  Denmark.  Bang's 
experience  with  the  tuberculin  test  had  shown  him,  that  tho  ac- 


422  BULLETIN   No.   149  [February, 

curately  revealing  the  presence  of  tuberculosis  it  gave  little  knowl- 
edge of  the  extent  of  the  disease  in  the  cow,  which  might  often 
indeed  have  only  a  slight  infection.  His  special  desire  was  to 
devise  a  system  eventually  to  get  rid  of  the  tuberculous  cow;  to 
prevent  at  once  further  spread  of  the  disease,  and  to  interfere  as 
little  as  possible  with  the  breeding  of  cattle. 
An  outline  of  the  method  is  as  follows: 

1.  Apply  the  tuberculin  test. 

2.  Separate  the  herd  into  reacting  and  non-reacting  herds. 

3.  Provide  for  the  two  herds  entirely  separate  stables,  pas- 
tures, and  attendants,  if  possible  separate  farms. 

4.  Thoroly  disinfect  the  stables,   watering  troughs,  and  all 
utensils  coming  into  contact  with  the  healthy  herd. 

5.  Test  the  well  herd  every  six  months,  and  remove  the  re- 
actors and  again  thoroly  disinfect  the  stables. 

6.  Take  the  calves  of  the  tuberculous  herd  immediately  from 
their  mothers  and  feed  them  milk  from  non-reacting  cows  or  milk 
pasteurized  at  85°  C. 

7.  Add  no  calves  to  the  non-reacting  herd  except  those  show- 
ing a  negative  reaction  to  tuberculin,  subcutaneously  administered, 
at  the  age  of  six  months. 

8.  No  cows  "bought  in"  must  be  added  to  the  well  herd  un- 
til thoroly  tested  with  tuberculin. 

9.  All  milk  from  the  tuberculous  herd  must  be  pasteurized  or 
sterilized  before  used  as  food  for  man  or  animals. 

10.  As  soon  as  an  animal  in  the  tuberculous  herd  arrives  at 
an  advanced  stage  of  the  disease  indicated  by  physical  signs,  she 
should  be  immediately  disposed  of. 

The  application  of  the  tuberculin  test  should  be 

~T  H  P     T I  I  R  P  R  P  1  ) 

TEST  IN        can"ied   out   as  previously   described.      This   test 
THE  BANG  should  be  made  subcutaneously  and  should  be  in- 

METHOD  terpreted  with  care.    As  has  been  said  the  positive 

results  are  quite  reliable ;  but  it  is  the  negative 
results  that  give  the  trouble  in  applying  the  Bang  method.  Three 
things  at  least  must  be  guarded  as  carefully  as  possible.  I.  A 
cow  that  is  very  badly  infected  may  fail  to  react.  Most  generally 
however  her  physical  condition  would  at  least  show  that  the  cow 
was  not  in  a  good  state  of  health  and  should  be  discarded.  One 
such  cow  may  soon  infect  the  whole  herd  and  should  be  watched 
for  with  utmost  care.  2.  If  the  test  was  made  during  the  period 
of  incubation  of  a  part  of  the  cattle,  which  is  almost  sure  to  be 
the  case  in  some  of  the  animals,  especially  of  a  large  herd  in 
.which  this  disease  is  just  getting  a  start,  some  of  the  infected 
animals  would  not  react ;  but  later  the  disease  would  develop  and 


TUBERCULOSIS  OF  FARM  ANIMALS  423 

become  evident  in  these.  3.  In  cases  where  the  tubercles  are  suf- 
ficiently encysted  and  the  disease  becoming  arrested,  a  reaction 
may  not  occur,  as  was  shown  by  Moore  (already  cited).  These 
cows  may  react  at  a  subsequent  Jest. 

Because  of  these  last  two  facts,  the  failure  of  the  tuberculin 
to  show  the  presence  of  virulent  tubercle  bacilli  in  the  body  of  the 
cow  during  the  period  of  incubation  and  also  when  the  tubercle 
is  sufficiently  encapsulated  to  prevent  the  reaction,  it  is  probably 
advisable  when  the  larger  part  of  the  herd  reacts,  say  seventy 
percent  or  more,  not  to  separate  it  into  two  parts  but  to  consider 
the  whole  herd  tuberculous,  and  begin  to  build  up  a  healthy  herd 
from  the  non-reacting  calves  and  thoroly  tested  cattle  that  are 
"bought  in". 

After  finding  a  smaller  part  of  the  herd  tubercu- 

1OUS  by   the   tuberculm  test>  the   tw°  herds   should 

LING  OF  THE  ^  immediately  separated  and  provided  with  sep- 
TWO  HERDS  arate  stables,  feed  lots  and  pastures.  It  is  better 
when  practicable  to  have  separate  farms.  The 
two  herds  should  be  cared  for  by  different  persons.  If  this  is  not 
convenient,  the  hands  should  be  provided  with  different  sets  of 
over-suits,  and  shoes  for  each  barn  so  that  no  disease  germs  may 
be  carried  on  their  clothing  from  the  tuberculous  herd  to  the 
well  herd.  The  healthy  herd  is  tended  first  and  then  the  diseased 
herd.  One  should  never  go  directly  from  the  tuberculous  herd 
to  the  healthy  herd. 

One  of  the  serious  difficulties  is  providing  water 

WATER  ^or  bot^1  nerds-     I*  ig  expensive  to  provide  two 

sets  of  wells  or  cisterns,  especially  when  in  a  few 
years  one  expects  to  be  rid  of  the  tuberculous  herd  and  then  will 
not  need  the  extra  well  for  water  supply.  The  living  germs  may 
easily  be  carried  in  the  water.  Therefore  in  case  there  is  only  one 
source  of  water,  it  must  be  so  arranged  that  the  water  will  flow 
from  the  healthy  herd  to  the  tuberculous  herd. 

The  stables  where  the  non-tuberculous  herd  is  to 

DISINFECTION        ,        ,  .    «_•    '.i  1         *•    •     r  i         r+' 

OF  THE  be  kept  must  be  thoroly  disinfected.     First,  they 

STABLES  should   be  thoroly  cleaned,   and   then   disinfected 

with  mercuric  chloride  solution  in  proportion  of 
one  part  of  mercuric  chloride  to  one  thousand  parts  of  water.  The 
best  way  to  apply  this  solution  is  with  a  spray  pump.  The  wood 
work  and  floors  of  the  whole  stable,  around  the  doors,  the  posts, 
fencing,  and  any  other  place  on  the  premises  where  the  tuberculous 
cows  may  have  left  tubercle  bacilli,  should  be  disinfected.  After 
the  disinfecting  solution  has  dried,  all  the  wood  work  should  be 
painted,  oiled,  or  white-washed. 


424  BULLETIN   No.   149  [February, 

It  is  necessary  from  time  to  time  to  retest  the 

THE  WEL  we^  kerd  to  see  *kat  tnere  remain  no  tubercu- 

HERD  lous  animals.  It  is  better  to  test  every  six  months, 

and  at  least  as  often  as  once  per  year.  The  re- 
actors must  be  immediately  removed  and  the  stables  again  thoroly 
disinfected  each  time.  No  cow  should  be  tested  for  three  weeks 
before  or  after  calving,  nor  if  she  has  an  abnormal  temperature 
from  any  cause;  but  if  omitted  from  the  regular  test  she  should 
be  tested  as  soon  afterward  as  is  convenient. 

HANDLING  OF     Calves  Qf  tuberculous  cows  very  rarely  contract 

THE  CALVES        tuberculosis  from  their  mothers  before  birth.     It 

is  estimated  that  not  more  than  four  percent   are 

tuberculous  or  become  tuberculous  at  the  age  of  six  months  if 

they  are  immediately  removed  from  the  mother  at  birth  and  fed 

wholesome  milk.     Even  a  calf  from  a  cow  with  tuberculous  geni- 

.tal  organs  may  be  born  free  from  the  germs.     Every  calf  should 

be  tested  at  the  end  of  six  months  before  it  is  permitted  to  enter 

the  healthy  herd. 

Cows  that  are  "bought  in"  must  not  be  added  to 
BOUGHT  IN  ^e  we^  kei"d  until  they  are  thoroly  tested.  If  they 

come  from  a  region  where  there  is  considerable 
tuberculosis  they  should  be  kept  from  the  non-tuberculous  herd 
for  4  to  6  months  until  at  least  two  tests  have  been  made  before 
putting  them  with  the  well  herd.  It  is  by  far  better  to  buy  cows 
only  from  a  herd  known  to  be  entirely  free  from  tuberculosis.  The 
non-tuberculous  herd  is  the  great  desideratum  when  you  are  buy- 
ing— much  more  to  be  sought  than  the  non-tuberculous  individual ; 
because  it  is  not  unlikely  that  the  non-tuberculous  individual, 
proved  so  only  by  the  tuberculin  test,  especially  if  she  comes  from 
a  tuberculous  herd  or  a  region  where  tuberculosis  is  plentiful,  may 
on  the  second  or  third  test  prove  to  be  tuberculous ;  and  the  buyer 
may  find  it  out  only  too  late,  to  save  his  well  herd  from  becoming 
infected. 

It  is  necessary  to  pasteurize  all  milk  from  the  tu- 
berculous herd  before  use  as  food  for  man  or  for 

TION   OF  MILK  .          mi        i  j-  •••  f        •«      f 

R__nR_  PPFn     animals.     The  best  disposition  of  milk  from  tu- 

DtrUKtrttU-  .  .. 

ING  TO  HOGS  berctilous  cattle  is  to  use  it  in  the  manufacture  of 
AND  CALVES  some  of  the  dairy  products,  as  butter,  or  evapo- 
rated cream.  In  these  the  thoro  pasteurization 
does  not  harm  the  finished  products.  It  is  the  lack  of  attention  to 
pasteurization  that  has  caused  so  much  trouble  in  many  of  the 
dairy  regions.  A  cow  with  a  tuberculous  udder  can  infect  all  the 
milk  from  a  number  of  herds  when  this  is  mixed  together  in  the 
large  containers  at  a  creamery,  and  the  skim  milk  from  this  cream- 


TUBERCULOSIS  OF  FARM  ANIMALS  425 

ery  when  fed  to  calves  and  pigs  will  produce  tuberculosis.    This  is 
one  of  the  most  common  causes  of  infection  among  these  animals. 

Bang1  applied  his  method  first  on  the  Thurebylille 
'  farm  in  1892.  A  special  government  grant  gave 
EXPERIMENT  ^m  ^e  ^un^s-  When  this  herd  was  first  tested 
131  animals  reacted  and  only  77,  mostly  young 
animals,  were  found  to  be  healthy.  The  reactors  and  the  non- 
reactors  were  at  once  separated  but  only  with  a  board  partition  be- 
tween them  in  the  stables,  the  shed  occupied  by  the  calves  forming 
part  of  the  healthy  division,  which  should  have  been  separate. 
They  were  attended  by  two  sets  of  hands.  The  cattle  were  kept 
entirely  separate  at  all  times  both  in  the  stable  and  pasture.  At 
times  the  project  was  discouraging.  The  reactors  at  one  time 
from  the  well  herd  were  as  many  as  9  percent.  Things  necessary 
to  be  done  were  not  clearly  understood  by  the  farmer  and  at  times 
a  highly  tuberculous  cow  would  be  allowed  to  remain  on  the  farm 
for  some  time,  dischaiging  immense  numbers  of  virulent  bacilli. 
In  spite  of  all  these  drawbacks,  year  by  year  the  healthy  herd  in- 
creased and  in  1907,  five  years  after  the  experiment  started,  the 
herd  consisted  of  211  animals  without  one  reacting  to  the  tubercu- 
lin test.  This  herd  is  now  supplying  "milk  for  infants"  in  the  city 
of  Copenhagen,  a  very  superior  milk.  This  experiment  has  been 
repeated  so  many  times  in  Denmark  that  it  has  now  come  to  be 
known  as  the  Bang  system.  It  is  especially  Successful  on  the  .larger 
farms  and  estates,  more  particularly  where  the  herds  can  be  placed 
on  separate  farms.  On  such  farms  the  herds  have  been  cleared  of 
tuberculosis  in  two  or  three  years.  But  not  only  on  the  large  farms 
but  on  the  small  farms  this  method  of  Bang  has  been  successful. 
Bang1  records  in  1905  that  on  66  small  farms,  with  an  average  of 
29  head  of  cattle  per  farm,  there  were  1045  reacting  animals  and 
780  healthy  animals.  This  method  was  put  into  practice  and  a 
few  years  later  there  were  1896  healthy  animals  and  none  reacting. 

Harding  and  Smith4  in  New  York  State  were  equally  successful 
in  converting  a  tuberculous  herd  into  a  healthy  herd.  In  Wiscon- 
sin8 and  in  Pennsylvania5  the  Bang  method  has  been  applied  with 
success.  However  both  in  the  United  States  and  in  Canada  the 
Bang  method  has  not  proved  satisfactory  to  most  of  the  stock  own- 
ers who  have  tried  it. 

Klein5,  State  Veterinarian  of  Pennsylvania,  says  that  the  Bang 
method  is  not  popular  and  has  not  been  adopted  in  his  state  except 
in  a  few  instances.  The  reasons  appear  to  be  the  restricted  market 
for  the  heated  milk  and  the  extra  labor  in  maintaining  the  two 
separate  herds.  Pope7  of  East  Orange,  New  Jersey,  quotes  from 
.a  letter  received  from  Hon.  W.  C.  Edwards,  Rockland,  Ontario. 


426  BULLETIN  No.   149  [February, 

"I  most  certainly  think  that  the  Bang1  system  is  a  most  excellent 
one  for  any  one  to  practice.  I  may  say,  however,  that  I  do  not 
think  that  many  farmers  or  even  breeders,  will  go  to  the  expense 
and  trouble  involved  in  the  practice.  Personally  I  may  say  that 
the  riddance  of  tuberculosis  thru  the  Bang  system  is  very  effective  \ 
but  it  is  very  expensive  to  practice  it,  as  we  practice  it  here.  If  it 
was  to  do  over  again  I  would  have  separate  farms  ........  " 


"ASSOCIATE  •""*  seems  plausiWe  that  an  "associate  farm"  where 
FARM"  *ke  nei§"hbors  could  combine  their  forces  in  stamp- 

ing out  tuberculosis  from  among  their  cattle  would 
be  a  good  thing.  There  the  owners  of  small  herds  could  econom- 
ically use  the  Bang  method  in  ridding  their  herds  of  this  disease. 

It  would  only  be  necessary  to  have  a  small  tract  of  land  suf- 
ficient to  pasture  the  tuberculous  cows  kept  by  the  association. 
The  tract  of  land,  with  sufficient  buildings  could  be  owned,  rented, 
or  leased  as  each  association  should  choose  for  itself.  The  "associ- 
ate farm"  would  take  care  of  the  tuberculous  cow  or  cows  for  each 
member  of  the  association  for  which  would  be  paid  a  stipulated 
price  agreed  upon  by  the  members.  Only  cows  valuable  either  for 
butter  making  or  more  especially  for  their  calves  would  be  expected 
to  be  kept  on  the  farm.  Each  member  would  get  back  his  own 
calves  to  add  to  his  sound  herd  upon  his  own  farm,  and  have  also 
his  share  of  the  proceeds  of  the  dairy  products  that  were  marketed. 

The  advantages  of  the  "associate  farm"  would  be  several: 
i.  The  disease  would  be  much  more  completely  isolated.  The  tu- 
berculous cows  of  the  whole  neighborhood  could  easily  be  kept 
from  the  non-tuberculous  cows.  The  method  would  thus  avoid  in 
a  large  measure  the  difficulties  and  expenses  of  the  Bang  system  as 
practiced  by  the  individual  farmer,  and  moreover  would  insure 
greater  protection  for  the  healthy  herds.  2.  There  would  be  an 
advantage  in  marketing  the  dairy  products.  The  public  interest 
in  the  matter  of  pure  dairy  products  is  becoming  more  and  more 
pronounced,  and  when  any  dairyman  could  show  that  he  had  no 
tuberculous  cattle  upon  his  farm,  his  dairy  products  would  be  at 
a  premium.  The  cream  from  the  tuberculous  herd  at  the  associa- 
tion farm  could  be  made  into  the  highest  grade  butter  after  proper 
pasteurization.  The  method  thus  combines  the  best  principles  of 
the  Bang  system  and  does  away  with  the  expense  of  two  sets  of 
stables  and  pastures  and  two  sets  of  hands  at  each  farm.  It  pro- 
vides the  small  stock  owner  the  opportunity  of  successfully  using 
the  Bang  method  to  rid  his  herd  of  tuberculosis,  and  at  the  same 
time  gives  him  an  advantage  in  marketing  his  dairy  products. 


TUBERCULOSIS  OF  FARM  ANIMALS  427 

THE  DUTY  OF  THE  STOCK  OWNER 

There  is  expense  involved,  and  every  farmer  will  have  to  de- 
termine for  himself  whether  the  expense  in  freeing  his  herd  from 
tuberculosis  by  the  Bang  method  will  be  greater  than  that  of 
slaughtering  and  purchasing  new  stock.  There  will  be  expense, 
trouble  and  aggravation  in  any  way  he  rids  his  farm  of  this 
dreaded  disease.  But  the  expense  will  not  be  so  great  as  keeping 
the  disease  in  his  herd,  which  sooner  or  later  is  sure  entirely  to  de- 
stroy it.  The  problem  is  here  and  it  must  be  faced,  and  the  sooner 
the  fight  is  begun,  for  a  fight  it  must  be,  the  less  will  be  the  strug- 
gle and  expense.  Moreover,  in  the  end,  this  will  be  the  task  of 
the  individual  farmer  in  whose  herd  the  disease  exists.  Indeed 
the  Nation  and  the  State  will  have  and  should  have  their  share  of 
responsibility.  But  tuberculosis  like  a  noxious  weed  must  be  kept 
out  of  each  individual  herd,  and  the  cattle  owner  is  the  only  one 
that  can  constantly  keep  guard  over  his  own  flock.  To  this  end 
the  stock  owner  should  educate  himself  concerning  tuberculosis, 
concerning  its  slow  development  in  the 'animal  body,  the  ease  with 
which  it  is  overlooked,  its  contagiousness,  its  manner  of  spread 
from  herd  to  herd  and  from  animal  to  animal  within  the  herd,  its 
detection  by  the  tuberculin  test  and  by  other  means ;  and  he  should 
learn  to  understand  especially  the  failure  that  he  may  experience 
by  relying  too  implicitly  upon  the  negative  tuberculin  test.  More 
than  this,  not  only  must  he  inform  himself  upon  this  subject,  but 
he  must  help  teach  his  neighbor;  for  his  ignorant  neighbor  may 
maintain  a  tuberculous  herd  in  such  condition  as  to  menace  the 
stock  of  all  the  surrounding  farms. 

DUTY  OP  THE  STATE 

It  is  widely  recognized  that  it  is  an  obligation  of  the  state  to 
take  an  active  part  in  the  control  and  prevention  of  tuberculosis 
among  farm  animals.  For  this  purpose  Germany  and  England  have 
appropriated  large  sums  of  money  to  carry  on  scientific  investiga- 
tions which  they  are  doing  thru  their  Commissions  on  Tubercu- 
losis. A  large  amount  of  investigation  has  been  done  in  this  coun- 
try by  the  United  States  Government  thru  its  Bureau  of  Animal 
Industry,  as  well  as  by  various  state  governments.  As  has  been 
said  before,  in  the  end  it  will  fall  to  the  lot  of  the  stock  owner-  to 
eradicate  and  to  keep  out  of  his  own  herd  this  dreaded  disease. 
But  it  will  be  the  part  of  the  state  to  organize  the  work,  to  combine 
the  efforts  of  the  various  live  stock  interests,  health  organizations 
and  other  societies  that  they  may  all  work  together  in  harmony  to 
one  end,  the  complete  eradication,  finally,  of  tuberculosis  from 
among  the  farm  animals.  This  is  possible.  An  example  of  ef- 
fective prevention  may  be  seen  in  the  Island  of  Jersey  where  by 
vigilant  care  the  cattle  are  kept  quite  free  from  tuberculosis. 


428  BULLETIN   No.   149  [February, 


ORGANIZATION  tuberculosis  work  of  the  state  is  usually  or- 

OF  THE  WORK  ganized  and  carried  out  under  a  Board  of  Live 
Stock  Commissioners.  This  is  better  than  the 
creation  of  a  special  board  for  this  single  disease.  Extra  funds 
will  be  necessary  and  should  be  provided  so  this  board  may  secure 
the  proper  help  to  carry  on  its  work  efficiently.  It  would  be  folly 
for  this  board  to  attempt  a  radical  elimination  of  all  tuberculous 
cattle.  This  has  been  tried  in  other  states  and  found  impracticable. 
'It  will  be  necessary  to  proceed  along-  conservative  lines.  It  is  the 
combined  effort  of  all  concerned  that  is  the  most  effective  in  elimi- 
nating1 this  disease.  To  preserve  the  harmony  and  to  keep  at  work 
all  the  organizations  concerned  in  eradicating  tuberculosis  from 
farm  animals  will  be  one  of  the  most  difficult  as  well  as  the  most 
important  of  the  tasks  that  the  Board  of  Live  Stock  Commission- 
ers will  have  to  perform. 

Another!  important  work  of  the  Board  should  be 
TUBERCULIN  ^  providing1  of  free  tuberculin  testing  of  cattle 
TESTING  when  requested  by  stock  owners.  This  testing 

should  be  done  under  proper  restrictions  and  con- 
trol. The  stock  owner  should  submit  to  such  a  control  of  the  react- 
ing animals  that  they  may  not  become  a  menace  to  other  stock  and 
to  the  health  of  the  people.  Each  reacting  cow  should  be  branded 
by  cutting  the  letter  T  in  the  right  ear,  so  that  the  few  unscrupu- 
lous stock  owrners  could  not  impose  upon  their  neighbors  by  selling 
the  fat,  sleek,  reacting  cows  for  healthy  animals.  This  testing 
should  be  free,  for  then  it  will  be  done  more  usually  by  authorized 
experts,  which  is  necessary  for  the  best  results.  Furthermore  the 
report  of  the  testing  which  is  so  essential  for  the  further  and  ef- 
fective control  of  the  reacting  cattle  will  thus  be  in  the  hands  of 
the  state  officials. 

All  reacting  animals  that  are  not  especially  desired 

CONTROL    OF         r         i  r         ,, 

THE  REACTING  breeding  purposes  or  for  the  production  of 

ANIMALS  '   dairy  products  should  be  slaughtered  under  State 

or  Federal  inspection.  When  it  is  desired  to  retain 
such  reacting  animals  as  mentioned  above,  proper  quarantine  regu- 
lations should  be  enforced  under  the  control  of  the  Board  of  Live 
Stock  Commissioners.  Printed  regulations  and  advice  should  be 
provided  by  this  board  when  requested  by  the  owners  of  such 
stock.  An  inspector  should  visit  the  quarantined  herd  not  only  to 
see  that  the  regulations  are  carried  out  but  to  help  the  stock  owner 
by  advising  him  of  the  best  and  most  scientific  methods  of  ridding 
his  herd  of  tuberculosis.  The  sale  of  tuberculous  animals  except 
as  such  should  be  prohibited  by  law. 

An  indemnity  of  the  real  value  of  a  tuberculous  cow  should  be 


1911}  TUBERCULOSIS  OF  FARM  ANIMALS  429 

paid  the  owner  when  it  is  the  opinion  of  a  state  official  that  a  cow 
should  be  destroyed  in  order  to  protect  the  stock  of  the  surround- 
ing neighborhood.  This  procedure  should  be  used  sparingly  and 
only  when  absolutely  necessary.  It  should  be  remembered  that 
very  few  states,  if  any,  have  ever  succeeded  in  ridding  themselves 
of  tuberculosis  by  buying  up  the  tuberculous  animals.  Maine  may 
possibly  prove  to  be  the  one  exception,  and  Maine  can  succeed,  if 
she  does  finally,  only  because  there  is  very  little  tuberculosis  in  the 
state.  Illinois  can  not  wisely  undertake  such  a  procedure  at  pres- 
ent. It  is  especially  unwise  to  pay  a  fictitious  price  for  such  in- 
demnity. The  value  of  a  tuberculous  cow  can  never  equal  the 
price  of  a  non-tuberculous  cow  of  similar  grade  however  well  she 
may  look  from  outward  appearances.  The  indemnity  should  be 
measured  by  the  actual  market  value  of  the  tuberculous  cow  rec- 
ognized as  tuberculous. 

To  encourage  stock  owners  to  keep  their  herds 

PUBLIC   LIST-  ,  ,&,  ,      .      .,  j    •      ui  i 

free  from  tuberculosis  it  seems  advisable  to  keep 

ING   OF   NON-  ,  ,.        ,.  f  .          i     i       j       •    j. 

TUBERCULOUS  anc*  Pubnsn  nsts  °*  owners  of  such  herds,  mdicat- 
HERDS  ing  the  size  of  each  herd,  and  the  time  it  has  been 

kept  free  from  this  disease  as  shown  by  official 
testings.  Such  publications  may  be  undertaken  by  the  various  live 
stock  associations  but  the  testing  and  reporting  should  be  done 
under  the  direction  and  control  of  the  Board  of  Live  Stock  Com- 
missioners. The  records  of  the  Board  should  be  available  to  any 
purchaser  and  not  only  would  it  help  the  purchaser  to  select  stock 
from  herds  free  from  tuberculosis  as  shown  by  official  tests,  but 
it  would  be  an  incentive  to  stock  owners  to  keep  their  herds  free 
from  this  disease  as  it  would  put  a  premium  upon  such  herds. 

EDUCATION  Another  important  duty  of  the  state  is  to  carry  on 
POPULAR  AND  P°Plllar  education  along  these  lines.  This  should 
SPECIAL  ke  Prom°ted  and  carried  out  by  all  organizations 

concerned  and  at  all  available  opportunities. 
There  is  not  any  one  thing  that  will  do  more  to  rid  farm  animals 
of  tuberculosis  than  the  education  concerning  this  disease  of  every 
person  who  has  to  deal  with  such  animals.  Public  demonstrations 
showing  the  value  of  the  tuberculin  test  by  slaughtering  some  of 
the  reacting  animals,  especially  some  of  those  whose  physical  ap- 
pearance is  that  of  healthy  cattle,  with  the  demonstration  of  the 
lesions  in  such  cattle,  will  convince  the  most  skeptical  of  the  worth 
of  this  valuable  test.  Popular  lectures  and  exhibitions  of  the  tu- 
berculous tissues  from  cattle  and  hogs  will  be  very  profitable. 

It  might  also  prove  economical  and  wise  for  the  state  to  pro- 
vide facilities  for  the  training  of  men  expert  and  skillful  in  the 
handling  of  this  disease.  At  least  good  general  instruction  in  the 
subject  for  all  agricultural  college  students  would  seem  advisable. 


430  BULLETIN   No.   149  [February, 

SUMMARY 

1.  Recognition  of  tuberculosis  in  dairy  cattle  depends  almost 
entirely  upon  the  tuberculin  test. 

2.  The  positive  tuberculin  test  is  accurate  in  about  98  percent 
of  the  cases  as  shown  by  slaughter;    the  negative  test  is  not  so 
reliable. 

3.  For  handling  the   tuberculous  cow  one  of  the   following 
methods  is  advised : 

a.  In  advanced  cases  where  there  are  physical  signs  of  the 
disease  or  when  the  cow  is  not  very  desirable  for  breeding  or  dairy 
purposes,  slaughter  under  inspection  is  best. 

b.  When  it  is  desirable  to  keep  the  reacting  cow  for  the 
purposes  mentioned  aboye,  the  Bang  method  is  recommended  es- 
pecially to  large  stock  owners. 

c.  For  owners  of  smaller  herds  the  modified  Bang  method 
by  means  of  a  stock  owners'  association,  so  the  tuberculous  ani- 
mals may  be  farther  removed  from  the  healthy  herd,  is  to  be  recom- 
mended. 

4.  The  responsibility  of  ridding  farm  animals  of  tuberculosis 
must  be  placed  upon  the  stock  owner  before  there  can  be  any  hope 
of  permanent  success;    for  only  the  stock  owner  can  keep  close 
watch  over  his  herd. 

5.  The  State  will  have  her  share  of  responsibility  in  formulating 
rules  and  regulations,  providing  for  free  tuberculin  testing,  and 
carrying  out  a  system  of  popular  and  special  education  upon  the 
subject  of  animal  tuberculosis. 

REFERENCES 

1.  Bang,  B.,   Measures   against   animal   tuberculosis   in   Denmark. 
Sixth  Internat.  Cong,  on  Tuberculosis  4,  part  2:  850-868.     1908. 

2.  Dammann   and    Stedefeder,    (Dfeuts.    Tierarztl.    Wschr.,    1909: 
345.)  Ref.  Jour,  of  Comp.  Path.  22:  258.     1909. 

3.  Fisher,  I.,  Report  on  national  vitality,  its  wastes  and  conserva- 
tion.    Bulletin  of  the   Committee  of   One   Hundred     on     National 
Health.     U.S.  Senate  Document  No.  419.     1910. 

4.  Harding  and  Smith,  The  Bang  method  of  controlling  tubercu- 
losis, with  an  illustration  of  its  application.     New  York  Agr.  Exp. 
Sta.   Bull.  277.     1906. 

5.  Klein,   L.   A.,   Control   of  tuberculosis   in   domestic  animals   in 
Pennsylvania.     Sixth  Internat.  Cong,  on  Tuberculosis  4,  part  2:  547- 
556.      1908. 

6.  Moore,  V.  A.,  The  value  of  tuberculin  in  the  control  of  tuber- 
culous herds.     Sixth  Internat.  Cong,  on  Tuberculosis  4,  part  2 :  918- 
926.     1908. 


TUBERCULOSIS  OF  FARM  ANIMALS  431 

7.  Pope,  J.  E.,  Tuberculosis  of  cattle  from  the  point  of  view  of 
the  farmer.     Sixth  Internat.  Cong,  on  Tuberculosis  4,  part  2:  571- 
583.     1908. 

8.  Russell,   H.   I.,   The  history   of   a  tuberculous   herd  of   cows. 
Wis.  Agr.  Exp,  Sta.  Bull.  78:  3-16.     1899. 

9.  Smith,  Th.,  After  Moore. 


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